Embattled casino operator Star Entertainment Group has been offered a five-year financial lifeline worth $650 million after a series of bruising battles with regulators over scandals at its venues.
The proposal would require approval from the NSW and Queensland governments, and would still leave the company short of funds before the deal kicked in.
The board is considering the proposal from Oaktree Capital Management, a US firm majority owned by Canadian giant Brookfield Asset Management, to provide up to $650 million in funding across five years, The Star announced on Monday.
"There is no certainty that the proposal will be progressed, that the conditions to the proposal will be satisfied, or that the proposal will be implemented," the company said in an announcement to the Australian stock market.
"If The Star proceeds with the proposal, the company will require additional funding for the period prior to the proposal being implemented.
"There remains material uncertainty as to the group's ability to continue as a going concern."
The casino operator has recently been in talks with Hong Kong-based firms offering to buy its 50 per cent share in Brisbane's Queen's Wharf entertainment precinct, which opened in August.
The Star also operates a casino on Queensland's Gold Coast and in Sydney, where the NSW Independent Casino Commission is keeping a close eye on its operations.
The company has been battling a cash crunch that threatens to push it into insolvency as its revenues continue to slide.
It ended the year with just $78 million in cash available, losing more than $8 million in the final quarter of 2024.
The Star has been struggling since the fallout from a high-profile money-laundering scandal in 2021 that steered lucrative high rollers away from its casinos.
Former executives and board members have also been accused of putting profit above risk and failing to take action to prevent money laundering in a case brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission that began Federal Court hearings earlier in February.
