An investor with an address registered in Macau controls a 6-percent stake in Australian casino operator The Star Entertainment Group Ltd, according to stock exchange filings.
A Tuesday filing to the Australian Securities Exchange said that Xingchun Wang bought nearly 186.99 million shares in the casino firm between September and January 10, representing 6.52 percent of the voting power in the Australian company. The latest transaction took place on Friday, when Mr Wang acquired about 28.72 million shares in Star Entertainment.
Mr Wang is now the second-biggest shareholder in the casino firm, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters news agency.
The Australian Financial Review newspaper reported that Mr Wang’s shares are registered to a Macau address.
According to Star Entertainment, both its constitution and deals agreed with gaming regulators authorities in the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales “contain restrictions prohibiting an individual from having a voting power of more than 10 percent in the company”.
The firm’s stock hit record lows last week after the company flagged liquidity concerns and said it would be difficult to meet the requirements for the second drawdown under a new loan facility.
Star Entertainment stated last week that its available cash as of December 31 last year stood at AUD79 million (US$48.9 million).
It said the reduction in available cash reflected “difficult trading conditions”, the payment of regulator fines, significant legal and consulting fees, and ongoing transformation and remediation activities.
“The group continues to work towards the fulfilment of conditions precedent that must be met in order to draw down the additional AUD100 million under tranche 2 of the new facility,” stated the casino group.
It added: “A number of these conditions remain challenging to meet given the group’s current circumstances.”
Star Entertainment runs its flagship The Star Sydney casino in the Australian state of New South Wales.
It also holds gaming licences in the state of Queensland, where it launched in late August The Star Brisbane, a new casino resort that is part of the AUD3.6-billion Queen’s Wharf Brisbane.
In October, authorities in New South Wales said the casino licence for The Star Sydney property would remain suspended, with the casino operating under supervision. The company was also hit with a AUD15-million fine for ongoing compliance problems, and informed there would be a fresh review of its progress within the first quarter next year.
