Star Wins Queen’s Wharf Reprieve But Investors Eye Rivals

• Star extends Queen’s Wharf exit deal to July 2025
• Bally’s rescue deal threatened by potential AUSTRAC penalties
• Liquidity crisis deepens amid AML breaches and investor tensions

Star Entertainment Group (ASX: SGR) has reached a last-minute agreement with its Hong Kong-based joint venture partners to extend the deadline for its crucial exit from the Queen’s Wharf Brisbane project.

In a statement released Monday via the ASX, Star confirmed that partners Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE) and Far East Consortium (FEC) had agreed to extend the termination date of their March 2025 heads of agreement to July 31, 2025.

The filing came a week after the Hong Kong-based investors announced they were willing to walk away from the deal. Despite the reprieve, the Australian Financial Review reported Monday the investors are considering “dumping” Star for rival casino operators, including New Zealand’s SkyCity Entertainment and US hospitality and gaming giant Delaware North.

Deal at Risk

CTFE and FEC agreed in March to acquire Star’s 50% stake in the AU$3.6 billion (US$2.4 billion) development at what many analysts described as a fire-sale price.

The deal is seen as a lifeline for Star, which has battled a dire financial crisis over the past two years. It would enable the company to shed a AU$1.4 billion (US$900 million) debt obligation and secure a monthly AU$5 million (US$4 million) operating fee for managing the Brisbane casino, while refocusing resources on its other core assets.

A AU$300 million (US$195 million) capital injection from US gaming group Bally’s Corporation (NYSE: BALY.T) and the Mathieson family, the company’s largest existing investor, appears to have averted insolvency. The deal will see the US-based operator take majority control of the company, pending completion of the final investment terms.

Bally’s Jitters?

But Bally’s said recently it does not want to lose control of the Queen’s Wharf. And speaking to Asian Gaming Brief on Friday, Bally’s chairman Soo Kim warned that his company could still pull out of the rescue deal if Australia’s financial watchdog, AUSTRAC, gets its way.

The agency brought civil proceedings against Star in November 2022 for alleged breaches of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing laws. AUSTRAC wants a federal court to impose a AU$400 million (US$260 million) fine on the troubled casino operator.

Star has warned that even a AU$100 million fine could jeopardize its ability to continue as a going concern.

“One of the conditions precedent to our making the final investment and converting is that the company is solvent,” Kim said.