Australian casino operator The Star Entertainment Group Ltd says it has finalised the AUD200-million (US$130.3-million currently) debt facility it had announced on September 25.
A Thursday update to the Australian Securities Exchange confirmed the loan facility was in two tranches, each of AUD100 million, adding that the firm and its lenders were working on arrangements so that the first tranche could be drawn within a period up to December 20 this year.
One condition of being able eventually to draw down the second tranche – which would be available for a four-month period once the first tranche is drawn – is the company “raising additional subordinated capital of at least AUD150 million”.
According to the company, interest on the new facility was 13.50 percent annually “assuming cash pay is elected”, and an existing AUD300-million term facility had been “repriced to this level”.
On September 26, Star Entertainment reported a net loss after tax for the 12 months to June 30 of just under AUD1.69 billion.
At the time it wrote down the value of its venues amid what it said were “challenging trading conditions” and “various recent and upcoming regulatory casinonori changes which are expected to negatively impact the earnings of the business”.
Star Entertainment runs its flagship The Star Sydney casino in the Australian state of New South Wales.
It also holds gaming licences in the state of Queensland, where it launched in late August The Star Brisbane, a new casino resort that is part of the AUD3.6-billion Queen’s Wharf Brisbane (pictured).
Hong Kong firm Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd – which has itself come under scrutiny by Australian authorities – has investment interest in the privately-owned Destination Brisbane Consortium backing the Queen’s Wharf site.
The Star owns 50 percent of Destination Brisbane Consortium, with the other half split equally between Chow Tai Fook and Hong Kong-listed Far East Consortium International Ltd.
In October, authorities in New South Wales said the casino licence for The Star Sydney property would remain suspended, with the casino operating under supervision, and the company hit with a AUD15-million fine for ongoing compliance problems and a fresh review within the first quarter next year.
The company’s licence for its Sydney casino had been suspended “indefinitely” from October 2022, and placed under state-government supervision. The firm had also been fined AUD100 million by the New South Wales authorities.
The group’s licences for its casinos in the state of Queensland were also suspended in December 2022, and placed under state-government supervision.