Billionaires battle it out over Far North Queensland casino
Mogul Chris Morris has outbid rival Sam Arnaout with a $184m offer for the Reef Hotel Casino, citing strategic advantages with his existing Queensland operations.
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Gaming and tourism giants Chris Morris and Sam Arnaout are locked in a battle to acquire one of Cairns’s largest tourism properties, the Reef Hotel Casino, with both jockeying to outbid each other on the hotel and casino asset.
The Reef Casino Trust issued a statement to the ASX on Monday confirming the board of the trust, whose major shareholders count Casinos Austria and hotel group Accor, had received a new proposal from Mr Morris’s Morris Group for the potential acquisition of the Reef Hotel Casino.
Mr Morris has increased his bid to more than $184m, or $3.70 per unit, in respect of the nearly 50 million fully paid units on issue in the Reef Casino Trust, up from Mr Arnaout’s bid of $3.55 per unit on July 11 made through his Iris Cairns Property Trust.
Mr Morris – the co-founder of Computershare and now one of the nation’s wealthiest tourism barons who owns a deluxe casino as well as Townsville’s first five-star hotel – on Sunday reiterated his desire for the Cairns casino.
“We already own Townsville and there are lots of synergies. We are the safer pick because we already have a casino licence in Queensland,” Mr Morris said.
A spokesman for Mr Arnaout would not comment on whether the pub and casino owner, with existing gaming houses in Alice Springs and Canberra, would seek to increase his offer.
In a statement to the ASX, Reef Casino Services said Mr Morris’s offer was “unsolicited, conditional and non-binding”.
Reef Casino said the Morris Group offer would need to be considered in detail by the Reef Casino’s independent board committee.
Earlier this year Mr Arnaout’s Iris Group entered a four-week duediligence period to acquire the casino and associated Pullman-branded 128-room hotel on the casino site.
It is uncertain whether a transaction will take place, but it requires shareholder approval, according to the RCSL statement.
Mr Morris owns Queensland’s Mount Mulligan as well as the Orpheus Island Lodge – where $100,000 buys the entire island for three nights.
He also owns Pelorus Island, helicopters, a Mediterranean superyacht which rents for $400,000 a week, several superyachts in the far north Queensland leisure port of Port Douglas and a private jet.
The Cairns casino, held within the ASX-listed Reef Casino Trust, is fairly profitable even though it needs some renovation work, according to sources.
The market capitalisation of the Reef Casino Trust is $146m. According to the Reef Casino Trust’s recently lodged 2024 financial statements, visitation levels have still not recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
In 2024, however, the casino’s visitation was up 1.5 per cent, boosted by domestic visitation as the Chinese mainlander tourist market remained subdued. Electronic gaming was up 3.2 per cent, but table gaming was down 8.3 per cent due to fewer premium players visiting.
On the hotel side, revenue rose 4 per cent, boosted by strong bookings from inter- and intrastate visitors, while food and beverage was up 5.5 per cent, buoyed by events.
The casino is jointly operated by Casinos Austria International Ltd and Accor Casino Investments (Australia) Ltd. Accor also manages the Pullman-branded 128-room hotel on the casino site.
The last time the Reef Casino Trust was the subject of a takeover bid was in 2013 by the Fung family behind the failed $8bn Aquis resort and casino at Yorkey’s Knob. Billionaire Tony Fung and his family later bought the Canberra casino. It was acquired by Mr Arnaout for $63m in 2022.
Mr Arnaout is a significant residential developer and pub owner.
Meanwhile, wealthy tourism entrepreneur Andrew Burnes, of Helloworld, updated guidance on the group, stating underlying EBITDA guidance of between $58m and $62m, up from between $52m and $56m for the financial year.
Helloworld said while total transaction values had declined year-on-year due to lower customer numbers and changes in destination mix, margins had improved slightly and costs had been well managed.
“We have booked a gain on revaluation of Helloworld’s Webjet Group Ltd shareholding,’’ Helloworld said.
The travel agency added the change in destination mix had seen more interest in mid-haul destinations such as Japan, Bali, Thailand and Fiji, and lower airfares including a decline in average airfares in premium classes.
Helloworld will release its results on August 26.
Originally published as Billionaires battle it out over Far North Queensland casino
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