Troubled Star Entertainment Group has revealed it will sell off The Star Sydney Event Centre and other associated spaces at The Star Sydney to Foundation Theatres as part of an AU$60 million (US$37.5 million) deal.
In a move seemingly aimed at buying Star additional time as it looks to stave off insolvency, the casino operator said by way of an ASX filing that it has executed an exclusivity arrangement and binding term sheet setting out key terms to divest the event center, subject to finalization of long-form transaction documents and a number of customary conditions, including relevant government and regulatory consents.
Foundation Theatres will pay the AU$60 million exclusivity fee into escrow on or before 31 January 2025 which will then be released to Star as consideration for the disposal once finalized.
Upon completion of the transaction, the amount will be held in the disposal proceeds account established under the terms of the group’s debt facility and will constitute restricted cash, Star explained.
“The Star has worked closely with the team at Foundation Theatres since they acquired the sublease for the Sydney Lyric in 2011,” said Star Entertainment Group CEO Steve McCann. “We are pleased to partner with them as part of the continued evolution of our broad entertainment offerings at The Star Sydney.
“We continue to work on a number of other potential non-core asset transactions.”
The sale of non-core assets is seen as one of the few remaining options for Star to stay afloat, with the company itself recently acknowledging that avenues through which it can raise much-needed liquidity are “limited”.
Star revealed earlier this month that it was close running out of cash after burning through a large chunk of the AU$100 million debt facility it had drawn down in December, leaving just AU$79 million in available cash as of 31 December 2024.
