Star Entertainment Finds Lifeline, Sells Brisbane Casino Stake, Secures Loan

Posted on: March 7, 2025, 12:28h. 

Last updated on: March 7, 2025, 12:28h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More

Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

• The Star will sell its stake in The Star Brisbane
• The Star remains on life support
• The Star has secured a loan to keep it afloat

The Star Entertainment Group (The Star) on Friday confirmed rumors reported by Casino.org on Thursday that it would divest its 50% stake in The Star Grand Brisbane that opened only last August.

Officials with The Star, the embattled Aussie casino giant, announced today that the company will sell, pending regulatory approval and other conditions, its Brisbane property. The buyers are Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium, The Star’s two largest shareholders.

The selloff comes with the benefit that The Star will not be required to make further equity contributions to pay down debt stemming from The Star Brisbane’s construction. Lenders remained owed A$1.4 billion.

Star Needed Quick Cash 

With reports suggesting that The Star could run out of cash as soon as this weekend, The Star scrambled to find quick cash. Along with Chow Tai Fook and Far East, the company announced that it secured a A$250 million loan from New York-based alternative investment giant King Street Capital Management.

The senior secured bridge loan features an annual all-in interest rate of 15%, paid monthly, up to 10% of which may be paid in kind. Casino.org reported yesterday that Aussie billionaire coal magnate Chris Wallin had offered The Star an A$200 million loan, but that offer never materialized.

In addition to The Star Brisbane sale and bridge financing, The Star announced that a further debt refinancing proposal of A$750 million had been received from an additional potential lender. Whether that offer will be accepted is ongoing, with Star officials saying “outstanding due diligence inquiries” will be completed by March 18. The proposed lender was not named.

I would like to thank our team for their efforts and our stakeholders for their support in relation to the important matters we announced today,” said Steve McCann, CEO and managing director of The Star Entertainment Group. “This transaction is an important milestone for the company and contributes to providing a potential pathway towards financial viability.”

Star’s demise stemmed from government inquiries in Queensland where the company, in addition to Brisbane, owns and operates The Star Gold Coast, and in New South Wales where The Star Sydney is located.

Those inquiries found that Star, like its Australian rival, Crown Resorts, failed to protect its casinos from being used by criminal syndicates to launder money. The Star was also accused of welcoming gamblers from China and allowing players banned in one Australian state to gamble at one of its casinos in another.

Star Gazing

Looking ahead, McCann believes today’s transactions position The Star for future success, though many challenges remain.

We are excited about our future in the Gold Coast. We will have almost 1,200 hotel rooms at the Gold Coast following the opening of the five-star Andaz Hotel in late 2025 and believe that once we optimize these operations and our strategy, our full ownership of these hotels will enhance our integrated offering and provide an opportunity to improve the performance of the business. The receipt of cash funding will provide additional support in the near-term as we focus on putting in place additional liquidity measures and seek to implement a whole of company refinancing,” McCann detailed.

Saying the organization “still faces various risks,” McCann said Star’s immediate focus will continue to be its implementation plan “to restore our licenses.”