The troubled owner of Sydney's Star Casino has been rescued. After failing to release its financial results a month ago and being suspended from the stock exchange, Star Entertainment has finally secured a deal with lenders.
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00:00It's taken a month of intense negotiations, but Star Entertainment Group has finally secured
00:07itself a lifeline.
00:09Its bankers have agreed to tip in an extra $200 million to keep the operation afloat.
00:15But it comes with an expensive price tag, 13.5% interest.
00:20That's about double a normal home loan interest rate.
00:22There was a last minute hitch, however, when the Queensland Government refused to provide
00:26support after New South Wales had already backed away.
00:29There's been no agreement whatsoever reached there, and we're unlikely to reach one.
00:34Frankly, I find it astounding that they would be asking the state to defer taxes, to delay
00:40the payment of taxes, while paying themselves performance bonuses.
00:44We're going to put the taxpayers of Queensland ahead of those executives.
00:48The company's financial results were released today, almost a month late, and they were
00:52a sea of red ink.
00:54Losses blew out to almost $1.7 billion after huge write-downs on the value of its Brisbane
01:00casino at Queens Wharf, and smaller write-downs in Sydney and on the Gold Coast.
01:05Little wonder then that nervous directors recently considered calling in administrators.
01:10Tomorrow, the casino group's new management will have to explain to regulators why they
01:14should be allowed to keep operating.
01:17That follows a second inquiry, which found them unfit to hold a licence.
01:22When the shares resume trading tomorrow, big falls are expected.