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Blackstone reportedly pondering The Star acquisition upon voluntary administration

New York-based private equity group Blackstone is reportedly pondering a possible acquisition of embattled Australian casino group The Star Entertainment, aiming to take advantage of the group’s poker machines.

Blackstone already holds a majority stake in The Star rival Crown Resorts – which operates casinos in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

According to speculation, the private investment firm may face some opposition from the New South Wales government in its attempt at the purchase, to avoid a casino monopoly in the state. However, this could be overcome due to the dire financial straits that The Star finds itself in.

Blackstone

Blackstone would reportedly only approach the acquisition once The Star enters voluntary administration, something the company has been preparing for by applying safe harbor provisions to protect directors from debt liabilities in case the company becomes insolvent.

In January, the company indicated that ‘there remains material uncertainty as to the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern’, disclosing that available cash as of December 31st amounted to just AU$78 million ($48.5 million).

The group indicated that it has been engaged in discussions ‘to a range of different solutions’ but that ‘there is no certainty that any of these negotiations will result in one or more definitive arrangements that might materially increase the Group’s liquidity position’.

Even the recent appearance of Macau-based petrochem mogul Xinchun Wang as the second-largest investor in the group – holding 6.52 percent of voting power and attempts to negotiate with state governments on reducing the tax burden have failed to alleviate concerns that The Star might not pull through.

AGBrief Editorial
AGBrief Editorialhttps://agbrief.com/about-asia-gaming-brief/
The AGBrief Editorial Team is a group of contributors living around the world that are connected to Asia Gaming Brief. They are active members in pursuing the sources of our news, making them reliable and accurate for our readers.

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