Star Entertainment Group says its deal to sell Queen’s Wharf is not likely to go through by July 31

The sale of Star Entertainment Group’s Queens Wharf precinct to its Hong Kong investment partners is on the rocks again, according to an ominous ASX announcement.

Star Entertainment Group is in crisis.

The sale of Star Entertainment Group’s Queens Wharf precinct to its Hong Kong investment partners is on shaky ground - again - with the company describing the deal as “unlikely” to go through by the July 31 deadline.

Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium, which currently each hold 25 per cent of Queen’s Wharf, agreed in March to take over Star’s 50 per cent share, but negotiations faltered in March and hit crisis point last month with formal termination action.

In its quarterly activities report, released Wednesday morning, Star said the deal’s failure would mean it had a week to repay $10m of the $45m it had already received from its partners and reimburse another $26.5m by September 5.

Queen's Wharf. Photo: Steve Pohlner

The report said “the parties continue to negotiate long form documents”, but that “based on the current status of discussions, it is unlikely that the parties will be in a position to finalise long form documents by 31 July 2025”.

The Star’s results for the quarter revealed its earnings had continued to go backwards, a reported $27m loss compared to a $24m loss the previous quarter. Queen’s Wharf was responsible for $15m of the lost earnings.

Star’s revenue of $270m was around the same as the previous quarter.

Star said the soft performance reflected a “challenging operating environment”, which included the impact of mandatory carded play and cash limits in NSW, as well as stricter regulatory requirements across all its properties.

The report said the group had a $400m loan facility with TSEG Group, which had a 13.5 per cent interest rate and was secured against Star’s Gold Coast assets.

Continuing uncertainty over the Queen’s Wharf deal comes after Star shareholders last month approved a $300m buyout deal from US-based Bally’s Corp and pubs billionaire Bruce Mathieson, a deal that saved the group from almost appointing administrators.

Meanwhile, the financial crimes watchdog is seeking a $400m penalty for Star’s money laundering failures which compelled Bally’s to say it may walk from the rescue deal.

Star says anything higher than $100m could send it broke.

Originally published as Star Entertainment Group says its deal to sell Queen’s Wharf is not likely to go through by July 31