The Star Entertainment Group Limited Evaluating its Options

Australian casino operator The Star Entertainment Group Limited has revealed it is seriously assessing its financial position after trading of its shares was suspended by the Sydney Stock Exchange.

The Brisbane-headquartered firm is responsible for the gambling-friendly The Star Gold Coast and The Star Sydney facilities and last week opened its The Star Brisbane venue within its home city’s new $2.4 billion Queen’s Wharf development. The company also runs the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre on behalf of the Queensland government and last year pocketed around $37.7 million by selling off its stake in the 295-room Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort Gold Coast enterprise.

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Turbulent Times

The Star Entertainment Group Limited was suspended from the Sydney bourse on Monday morning after it missed the deadline for the publication of an official earnings report concerning the twelve months to the end of June. This came at the same time the operator was dealing with the fallout from a damning report from the New South Wales Independent Casino Commission (NICC) regarding the casino license for its The Star Sydney property.

“The Star Entertainment Group Limited is currently reviewing its financial and liquidity position with various advisers in the context of seeking to finalize its preliminary financial report for the financial year ended June 30, 2024, including holding discussions with various stakeholders in relation to its liquidity position in light of adverse trading and other conditions,” read a statement from The Star Entertainment Group Limited.

Subsequent Strife

The Star Entertainment Group Limited was left flabbergasted in 2022 when an NICC-backed investigation led by prominent local lawyer Adam Bell uncovered significant shortcomings in its cultural, communications, and anti-money laundering processes. 

Nevertheless, the company was controversially allowed to keep its New South Wales casino license under a conditional suspension after paying a record fine of about $65 million and agreeing to complete a remediation plan under the supervision of independent manager Nicholas Weeks. 

However, the NICC published the findings of a second Bell-led probe into The Star Entertainment Group Limited late last week, in which the operator was described as having ‘not moved quickly enough to address the governance and cultural concerns’ uncovered by the first review. The regulator’s Chief Commissioner, Philip Crawford, subsequently disclosed that this determination could well see the firm hit with a range of fresh penalties, including the forfeiture of its license to offer gambling at The Star Sydney.

The Star Entertainment Group had been Australia’s largest listed casino operator but its shares are now valued at less than half of what they were last week. The Australian Financial Review reported the company has moreover been hit by ballooning debt tied to the new Queen’s Wharf development alongside a reluctance on the part of its investors to provide any more financial assistance.

Alternative Answers

Despite all this, The Star Entertainment Group Limited confirmed it is seeking ‘advice’ from a range of parties in hopes of being able to finalize its most recent financials in the near future. It additionally divulged some of the paths now being explored, including recourse to the ‘safe habour’ provisions of the Corporations Act 2001, where company directors would restructure operations internally after stumping up more cash behind the scenes.

“The Star Entertainment Group Limited will provide a further update in respect of its financial and liquidity position in conjunction with the release of its annual preliminary financial report,” read the statement from The Star Entertainment Group Limited. 

“Upon release of the annual preliminary financial report, the company's shares would resume trading in accordance with the listing rules of the Sydney Stock Exchange.”