ASX SUSPENDS THE STAR
Chaos as The Star stripped from ASX days after Brisbane site grand opening
Thousands of jobs are potentially in limbo after Australia’s gambling giant The Star was suspended from the stock exchange. The operators of Star Casino have reportedly told the market they are reviewing their liquidity position following days of silence after being suspended from trading.
The Star Entertainment Group was delisted by the ASX on Monday after it breached reporting conditions by failing to lodge its financial accounts for the past financial year. The gaming giant reportedly said at the time it was still assessing its financial outlook amid reports it was pleading with banks, governments and investors for money.
The Star told the ASX late on Wednesday that it had engaged “various advisers … in relation to its liquidity position in light of adverse trading and other conditions”.
It comes after the staged opening of The Star’s $3.6bn, 12ha new site at Queen’s Wharf in Brisbane’s CBD began on August 29; days later, it is already in trouble.
The crown jewel of the new precinct employs about 3000 people with 1400 new jobs. The Star is reportedly in talks with the state government for $300m in funding.
Queensland Premier Steven Miles previously said the “worst-case scenario would be that they (Star) would have to close their doors not long after opening them”.
He added the state government would do everything it could to avoid that, with discussions about tax deferrals, and labelled the site a “fantastic asset for our city”.
The Star was reportedly supposed to have lodged its financial accounts for the 12 months to June 30 last week but had failed to do so. At the time, it said it was because it had received a copy of the second Bell inquiry into its culture and was still assessing its financial outlook.
On Monday, the Australian Securities Exchange or ASX announced it had temporarily suspended Star Entertainment Group and delisted them from the stock exchange.
UPDATE – The Star sells Treasury Casino
Star Entertainment has sold its former Treasury Casino property in Brisbane as the embattled gaming giant scrambles for fresh financing and a tax reprieve to manage cost blowouts at its new Queen’s Wharf development.
The company confirmed months of speculation late on Friday by confirming the historic site would be sold to Griffith University for $67.5 million. Star is expected to pocket $60.7 million, the company said.
The sale is a rare moment of positivity for the troubled gaming group, which operates casinos in Brisbane, Sydney and the Gold Coast. Its shares were suspended from the sharemarket after it lost the confidence of its banks and failed to file annual accounts.
Star chief executive Steve McCann remains locked in negotiations with the NSW and Queensland state governments and Star’s lenders in an attempt to find $300 million to secure the casino group’s short-term finances.
Sources:
Chaos as The Star stripped from ASX days after QLD site grand opening | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site
