Yes but now that they are operating under safe harbour provisions, it’s unlikely that the larger lender group would support the casino taking on additional debt through that route, and they have more power in these decisions during safe harbour provisions. Given the already high repayment obligations they have, the cash would not last long, and they all want returns.
They may approve such a measure only if it becomes the absolute last resort to buy additional time to pursue a more significant solution, like the sale of Sydney's operation. IFT is preparing the lender groups for the high possibility of voluntary administration during a meeting on Monday, which was reported yesterday. (maybe was reported on earlier; I could have missed it?)
Lenders probably favour the complete sale of the Sydney operation, and frankly, it’s surprising that Steve didn’t move to offload Sydney earlier. Doing so could have resolved all the debt, covered the fines, and even provided a modest reserve to stabilise operations in Queensland; he should have announced a "strategic review" to get buyers sending in offers. Blackstone showed interest in Star Sydney some time ago, and I was hopeful that Flutter might pursue it given the footprint and cross-promotion power they could have with it, given their ability to integrate the Sportsbet app to address KYC issues and their already substantial market share (despite their own issues with AUSTRAC). If Sydney is sold now, it’s likely to be at a significantly reduced fire sale price.
On top of it all, a bunch of the billionaire investors are probably reluctant to inject additional cash into the group entitty until AUSTRAC’s fine is finalised. Understandably, they don’t want to be the ones footing the bill for it, and the fine is likely to exceed the funds Star has already set aside.
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