Anne Ward will step down as Chair of The Star Entertainment Group once the Australian casino operator’s strategic investment from Bally’s Corporation and Investment Holdings has crossed the finish line.
However, following a tumultuous financial year, the operator is now facing delays in its Destination Brisbane Consortium (DBC) exit once more, as it will not conclude by the scheduled sunset date.
Musical chairs
Bally’s and Investment Holdings’ AUD $300m investment (approximately USD $194m) in The Star moved closer to completion earlier this week after receiving regulatory approvals from the New South Wales Independent Casino Commission (NICC) and the Queensland Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR).
As such, the investment in the Australian casino operator has been converted into equity, making Bally’s a substantial shareholder.
Once this process has been completed, which is expected to occur later this week, Ward stated during The Star’s annual general meeting that she will retire from the board.
“My commitment during this period has been to ensure an orderly transition to the new major shareholders and strengthen the financial position of the Star,” noted Ward.
“As set out in the Notice of Meeting, I intend to retire from the Board once the convertible notes issued to Bally’s Corporation and Investment Holdings are converted into shares and relevant appointments are then made to the Board. This is expected to be completed later this week.”
As part of the approval process, the NICC stated that its decision “does not affect the current status of The Star’s licence”, which remains suspended.
NICC-appointed manager Nick Weeks will continue to have casino operations oversight and the operator will still be subject to “rigorous remediation milestones and reporting conditions relating to its AML/CTF, gambling harm, governance and culture uplift programs”.
Delays in Brisbane
While one deal is on the verge of completion, another transaction, the sale of The Star’s 50% stake in the DBC, will not conclude by the desired deadline.
The Star executed binding long-form documentation with its DBC joint venture partners – Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited (CTFE) and Far East Consortium International Limited (FEC) – back in August to exit the DBC and consolidate Gold Coast assets.
The operator noted that it has been making “positive progress on satisfying the conditions precedent to the DBC component of the transaction”, but these conditions “are unlikely to be met by the original sunset date of 30 November 2025”.
As such, an extension of the refinancing date for the DBC debt facility has been requested by the joint venture partners, moving it from late December 2025 to 31 March 2026. However, both parties also have the right to terminate the transaction, which has already happened once before, with a new agreement later being reached.
Steve McCann, Group CEO and Managing Director, commented: “Based on lender approval being confirmed, this would mean The Star’s parent company guarantee remains on foot for this additional period pending a release on achieving completion of the DBC transaction.
“If an extension to the DBC transaction sunset date is agreed by all parties, we will continue to work with our joint venture partners to satisfy the outstanding conditions, noting that if we do not meet the sunset date, in the absence of an agreed extension to the 30 November date, either party has a right to terminate the transaction for convenience.
“We believe that both The Star and our joint venture partners remain committed to completing the transaction in a timely manner.”
