US giant to buy stake in cash-short Australian casino group

US giant to buy stake in cash-short Australian casino group

US-based casino giant Bally's Corporation has agreed to inject Aus$300 million in troubled Australian operator Star Entertainment
US-based casino giant Bally's Corporation has agreed to inject Aus$300 million in troubled Australian operator Star Entertainment. Photo: DAVID GRAY / AFP
Source: AFP

Troubled Australian casino operator Star Entertainment says it has been thrown an 11th hour multi-million dollar lifeline by US-based casino giant Bally's Corporation.

Star's business -- including casinos, bars, restaurants and hotels at resorts in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast -- has been hovering close to entering administration for months.

Bally's has agreed to inject Aus$300 million (US$187 million) for a 56.7-percent stake in Star, the two firms said in separate statements late Monday.

The US group is to make an initial payment of Aus$100 million on Wednesday, with the rest due after the approval of shareholders and regulators.

"This transaction provides Bally's the opportunity to infuse The Star with what it needs to regain its position as Australia's preeminent gaming destination," Bally's chairman Soo Kim said.

Star said it was also talking to its biggest shareholder, Investment Holding, about joining the deal with an Aus$100 million injection.

Read also

China vows to stay 'safe and promising land' for foreign investment

If that deal went ahead, Bally's participation would drop to Aus$200 million.

Shares in Star, which employs more than 8,000 people, have been suspended from trading since March 3 after it failed to post half-year financial results citing liquidity woes.

The casino said in a statement late Monday it intended to "unanimously recommend" the deal to shareholders in the absence of a better offer.

Bally's manages 19 casinos across the United States, a golf course in New York and a horse racing track in Colorado.

Star Entertainment last traded at Aus$0.11 a share with a market capitalisation of Aus$316 million -- a far cry from its Aus$5 billion-plus value of seven years ago.

Its finances were squeezed by the cost of developing its Brisbane resort, the threat of an anti-money laundering fine, and stricter regulation in the industry, according to the Australian Financial Review.

The company has previously been accused of not adequately policing criminal infiltration and doing little to vet the sources of money coming into the business.

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find the “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.