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Star Entertainment Group
The Star Entertainment Group Limited is an Australian gambling and entertainment company.[1] The company was formerly known as Echo Entertainment.[4] Star is Australia's biggest listed casino group.[5] Following a money laundering scandal and 3 years of massive losses, it is currently seeing massive slumps in it share price with fears that it will go into voluntary administration and close or sell lots. PropertiesThe Star Entertainment owns and operates the Treasury Casino & Hotel,[6] The Star Gold Coast and The Star, Sydney.[7] Star Entertainment holds three out of Queensland's five casino operation licenses.[8] The group also manages the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre on behalf of the Queensland Government.[9] Star owned a 50% stake in the Sheraton Mirage resort on the Southport Spit,[10] that it sold in 2023 for $192 million.[11]
Queen's Wharf BrisbaneThe Queensland Government announced on 20 July 2015 that Echo Entertainment as 50% joint venture partner of the Destination Brisbane Consortium was the preferred tenderer for Queen's Wharf, Brisbane, beating rival Crown Resorts. Echo has two Hong Kong–based joint venture partners Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium. The two joint venture partners will each contribute 25% of the capital to develop the integrated resort and will also jointly pay for the apartment and broader Queen's Wharf developments. ControversyIn 2021 a joint report by the Sydney Morning Herald the Age, and the television program 60 Minutes, found that Star management had been warned that its anti-money laundering controls were inadequate and that between 2014 and 2021 Star had attempted to recruit high rollers who were allegedly linked to criminal or foreign-influence activities. In response to the report Star stated that it was " "concerned by a number of assertions within the media reports that it considers misleading." And also stated that it would take steps to address the allegations with Australian authorities.[12][13] Following the report shareholders began forming a class action lawsuit against Star and inquiries were launched by Queensland's, Western Australia's, Victoria's, and New South Wales's state gaming regulators.[14][15] On 13 September 2022 the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) published a report finding The Star unsuitable to hold its Sydney casino license because of its conduct relating to money laundering risks. It had 14 days to respond.[16] The company was fined A$100m ($62m) as a result.[17] Star's gambling license was suspended and operations were placed under a new manager Nicholas Weeks.[18] In late 2022, the Queensland Government also found Star unsuitable to hold its dual state casino licences.[19] Former Court of Appeal Judge Robert Gotterson conducted an independent review of the matter.[20] Queensland Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman found Star misled regulators and failed in its anti-money laundering duties.[19] The company has been served a statement of claim for a securities class action in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The class action alleges [21] that Star breached disclosure obligations and acted against the best interests of the shareholders. Star was fined $100 million on 9 December 2022.[22] Casino licences for the Treasury Brisbane and the Star Gold Coast will be suspended for 90 days, with this action deferred until December 1, 2023. The deferment gives Star an opportunity to remediate its management and operations.[22] In April 2024, the chair for The Star Star Entertainment Group Limited David Foster resigned from his post less than a week after giving evidence to the ongoing inquiry into the license suitability of the company's The Star Sydney property. Foster reportedly found his efforts increasingly frustrated by office politics and, in particular, the relationship between the company's Chief Executive Officer, Robbie Cooke, and the independent manager appointed to help implement an official state-mandated remediation plan, Nicholas Weeks.[23] Foster's departure came after he told the official inquiry his company was currently unsuitable to operate a casino in New South Wales. There was ‘not a scenario’ in which it would be able to run the property unsupervised. He was additionally quizzed on Tuesday over a series of ‘heat of the moment’ texts with Cooke in which the pair allegedly discussed getting rid of Weeks by having shareholders launch a class-action lawsuit against the government-appointed manager.[24] LossesDuring the 2022-23 financial year Star lost $2.44 billion. In the 2023-24 financial year the company sustained losses of $1.69 billion.[2] Speculation of a potential takeoverIn May 2024, it was reported that multiple suitors were looking to acquire the company.[25] Hard Rock International was said to be weighing a bid,[26] but they subsequently stated that they were not looking into acquiring Star Entertainment.[27] 2025 speculation of bankruptcyThe share price saw a catastrophic 40% sell-off between 8 and 11 January 2025, becoming the worst performing business on the ASX, only selling for over a dime. This follows a release of a very bleak financial report over the previous quarter and fears the company has a 50-50 chance of collapsing into voluntary administration by the end of February. There are also fears that its portfolio will be divested or shuttered, with the Queen's Wharf, Brisbane precinct opening just the previous August. The Queensland Government has said it is in talks to support the South East Queensland workers should something happen, but has ruled out intervention of the business.[3] The share price bumped up to 13c on 13 January after mystery speculators bought into the company, amid an otherwise dismal day on the stock market after inflationary revelations.[28] See alsoReferences
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