Australias biggest listed casino operator suspended from stock exchange Economy

Australian shares fell to its lowest close in more than six months, wiping off about $50 billion in market value. Star Entertainment will receive a $53 million lifeline, with its Hong Kong joint venture partners confirming they will buy its stake in the Brisbane Queen's Wharf development, pulling it back from the brink of collapse. As well as negotiating with lenders, Star has pleaded for Anchor help from state governments, and on Friday, Star chief executive Steve McCann called for its various stakeholders to come together. As it fights for survival, Star said it was continuing discussions to attempt to deal with the crunch on its finances, but there was no guarantee it would be able to reach a deal to resolve its situation. It acknowledged the uncertainty over its ability to continue operating if the negotiations were unsuccessful.
The collapse of the deal means Star Entertainment will retain its 50% equity interest in Destination Brisbane Consortium (DBC). Star must also reimburse the JV partners an estimated $31 million in equity contributions by 5 September. This means Star Entertainment will have to pay back the $10 million it received from the JV partners by next Wednesday. Star Entertainment has announced that the deal to sell its 50% stake in Queen's Wharf, plus other assets in Brisbane, is now off. The deal falling over would leave Star saddled with those costs, as it attempts to turn its business around with the backing of Bally's. The termination notice will come into effect next Monday unless it is withdrawn within five business day. The Hong Kong investors poised to buy Star out of Brisbane's Queen's Wharf development have threatened to walk away from the deal that was first inked back in March.
The cards are designed to identify problem gamblers and to more easily enforce money-laundering rules. Operational earnings have plunged from about $19 million a month in the first half of the last financial year to just $4.6 million in the second half. Its accounts, delayed by a month, portrayed a company close to the edge as asset write-downs of more than $1.4 billion inflicted a full-year loss of almost $1.7 billion.
Star, which operates best Aussie live dealer casinos in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sydney, entered a trading halt before the Australian share market opened on Friday after failing to post its half-year financial results. Australia’s embattled Star Entertainment Group was suspended from the ASX, the country’s stock exchange, on Monday for failing to file its financial results. Equity analysts are not so confident, with Morningstar analyst Angus Hewitt, in a note to investors, saying that at its current cash burn, the company would be lucky to make it to its interim results scheduled for February 28. "We now incorporate a 50 per cent probability that Star falls into administration, and equity holders are wiped out," Hewitt said. Significant regulatory and financial challenges are clouding the company's future. So there's no doubt that investors are wondering what the Star Casino share price is actually worth.
Star investors who got excited on Monday by the left-field emergence of a mystery Macau buyer of the Pullman Reef casino virtual sports’s shares would be wise to curb their enthusiasm. There is nothing about Xingchun Wang’s taking a 5.5 per cent stake that looks like a white knight rescue attempt. Morningstar lowers our Uncertainty Rating from Extreme to very high after the results of the second bell inquiry were passed down. The scrutiny into Star’s suitability to hold a play casino games licence ended in the best online casino complaint handling melbourne plausible outcome that the company could have hoped for. Whilst they are currently deemed unsuitable to hold a top VIP casino rewards license, the enquiry ruled that the license need not be revoked entirely. Star’s core asset is The Star Sydney, which at one point was generating ~70% of the group’s earnings as the only casino in Sydney.