This Month
Inside Steve McCann’s final attempt to catch a falling Star
Star chief executive Steve McCann’s rescue plan for the casino group could be remembered as one of the trickier pieces of dealmaking in Australia this decade.
Star Entertainment shares to remain suspended despite deal
The company’s chief executive, Steve McCann, needs to secure long-term financing from an unnamed party for the accounts to be signed off and for trade to resume.
Steve McCann is changing Star Entertainment’s business plan mid-flight
The company’s decision to get out of Brisbane and focus on the Gold Coast and Sydney was driven by necessity, and a shift in its direction.
February
Inside the Star circus, the proposals all come back to two things
The casino operator’s board has given CEO Steve McCann and its bankers long enough to find the required cash. It is time to deliver.
January
Star Entertainment sells Sydney events venue in fire sale
The ASX-listed company had warned earlier this month that it was not certain whether it could avoid collapse, as debts mounted and revenue remained weak.
10 CEOs under the pump in 2025
Overextended stockmarket valuations equal heightened investor expectations. The market has these 10 chief executives in its sights.
Why Star is like Stephen Hawking’s black hole
The publicly exposed failures of Australia’s casino industry and Star in particular is a case study in geese, golden eggs, hubris and astrophysics.
A rescue deal for Star won’t solve its existential crisis
Star’s mounting losses show the urgency of its ugly situation. But even winning the support of governments and lenders won’t solve its biggest problem.
Star talks hinge on $350 million question
Star Entertainment’s Steve McCann is yet to see the whites of his lenders and governments’ eyes. The time is coming.
Star has six weeks to find financing as NSW, Queensland rule out help
The company, which operates casinos in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, has been burning through cash faster than the market expected as gamblers stay away.
Cash burn puts Star on its deathbed. Its only hope is a deal
Only a white knight can save the casino operator from becoming Australia’s biggest corporate collapse since Virgin Australia in 2020.
November 2024
Star’s long-suffering lenders are starting to become very impatient
Of note, it comes as potential bidders start to appraise the potential of Star’s individual assets.
September 2024
Star needs new friends to stop the bleeding
Where will Star Entertainment’s shares trade? Surely, it’s going to be ugly on Friday morning.
Star’s Steve McCann is not the CEO – he’s just ‘observing’
McCann is chief executive subject to regulatory approvals, which he does not yet have.
McCann’s Star plan collides with angry lenders, politics
It’s one thing to have a turnaround plan, it is another to get the clear air to pull it off.
August 2024
The Star’s still too big to fail. Its redemption rests with one man
The Star will be given yet another lifeline. But its new rescuer-in-chief faces an incredibly difficult task.
July 2024
Steve McCann’s big London trip
McCann took the reins of Star Entertainment on July 8. And on July 15, he was off to London, with the board’s acquiescence.
Steve McCann takes his biggest punt with embattled casino giant Star
As far as turnarounds go, this is bigger than Boral, Bapcor and Seven West Media combined. “I had room for one more,” he says when asked why he took the job.
Gaming no longer ‘glorious part of the business’: Star boss
Steve McCann says the company’s casino business might never return to the boom times and its future is likely to lie in its restaurants and hotels.
June 2024
Former Lendlease boss Steve McCann takes top job at Star Entertainment
The businessman also ran the casino group’s rival, Crown Resorts, before it was sold to Blackstone. He will receive a $2.5 million sign-on bonus.