Bally’s Taking Control of Star Entertainment in $178 Million Deal

^{Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim, seen here at the implosion of the Tropicana in Las Vegas, is making his latest move on the other side of the world, acquiring Star casinos in Australia. (Image: Dan Michalski / Casinos.com)}

American casino company Bally’s will take the controlling interest in Australia’s Star Entertainment Group after the two firms confirmed a deal worth A$300 million ($178.6 million) on Monday.

Bally’s will pay that sum in exchange for notes convertible to 56.7 percent of Star shares, allowing Bally’s to have the majority interest in Star if the deal goes through.

First Payment Expected to Come Through Wednesday

In an Australian Securities Exchange filing, Star revealed that the first of these payments – worth approximately A$100 million ($59.6 million) would be made by Wednesday, April 9.

That payment is necessary for Star Entertainment to remain afloat as a business in the short term. The remaining money would be paid following regulatory approval for the deal and a vote from Star’s shareholders. Star says it plans to hold that vote in late June, and indicated that its Board of Directors would “unanimously recommend that The Star shareholders vote in favor of the transaction.”

The move comes after Star saw other plans to secure financing follow through. 

Last month, Star Entertainment announced that it was selling a 50 percent stake in its Brisbane casino to two Hong Kong partners, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium Enterprises. That deal has yet to be finalized, though it did allow Star to raise A$35 million ($20.8 million) to continue running in the meantime.  Last week, Star said that an A$940 million ($560 million) refinancing offer from Salter Brothers Capital had failed to materialize.  

Kim: Major Changes Coming to Star Under New Management

Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim has said that he would like to keep Star’s assets in Sydney, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast together without selling off any pieces. However, he has also said that major changes are coming to the Australian casino giant after its performance in recent years.

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and again and expecting a different result,” Kim said in a Tuesday interview, via The Australian Financial Review. “We need to put different executives in there – this particular mix of executives have generated poor operating performance.”

Kim said that he believes Star – which has lost more than $2.5 billion in market capitalization since 2021 – can be profitable again in the near future.

“These assets have been severely undermanaged. We believe that within a reasonable amount of time, these assets can all start making money again,” Kim said. “That really changes the picture to what Star looks like.”

Star is also speaking to its largest shareholder, Investment Holdings Pty Ltd – operated by Australian billionaire Bruce Mathieson – about making a A$100 million ($59.6 million) investment, which could reduce Bally’s costs down to A$200 million ($119.1 million).

Star Entertainment has seen its fortunes fall in recent years as it has dealt with a series of investigations over its failure to follow protocols related to money laundering and counter-terrorism regulations. Issues such as those led the NSW Independent Casino Commission (NICC) to appoint Nicholas Weeks to oversee operations at The Star Sydney.

Soo Kim’s hedge fund, Standard General, purchased Bally’s via a buyout offer in July 2024 for a price of $18.25 per share, or $4.6 billion in total. Standard General was already the largest shareholder in Bally’s, having previously owned about 26 percent of its stock.