The beginning of the week saw the Star Entertainment Group confirm that it had finally reached a deal for the sale of its Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort Gold Coast. As revealed by the company, the agreement was estimated at a total of AU$192 million.
The agreed sale price was lower than the AU$200 million that the company was originally seeking. Star Entertainment Group has shared that it is looking to make at least AU$60 million in net proceeds from the sale. The money generated as a result of the sale is expected to be used by the company to pay off the outstanding regulatory fines it is facing over a number of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing failures. Furthermore, some of the proceeds are set to cover the higher casino duties owed by the operator in the state of New South Wales (NSW).
The property was put on the market by the Australian gambling giant in March 2023, and the group confirmed a sale agreement in June.
According to an official filing issued by the casino resort company, the new owners of the Sheraton Grand Mirage are entities owned by the Karedis and Laundy families. The Karedis family is known for making most of its fortunes via liquor stores across the country. Currently, it owns the Arkadia property group that makes investments in hotels and shopping malls. The Laundy family, on the other hand, runs a hotel chain and many pubs across the country. The Laundy and Karedis families were estimated at AU$1.5 billion and AU$972 million, respectively, in the AFR 2023 “Rich List”.
Australian Gambling Giant to Use Sale Proceeds to Offset Negative Impact of Regulatory Penalties
The Star Entertainment Group originally took over the Sheraton Grand Mirage in 2017, via its joint venture with Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium, which are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. At the time, the Australian gambling and casino group purchased the property for a total of AU$140 million.
As previously reported by Casino Guardian, in June 2023, Star Entertainment revealed that it had found a buyer for its 50% stake in the Gold Coast-located Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort.
Several months before that it announced that it intended to sell its 50% stake in the resort to raise capital that would help it offset some unexpected regulatory costs, the operator revealed the buyer and now, confirmed the sale of the property – a five-star beachfront casino and hotel resort featuring 295 hotel rooms, a few outdoor pools, five restaurants, and meeting capabilities. Star Entertainment’s Gold Coast casino and resort is situated in close proximity to the Sheraton.
Despite the sale price being lower than the originally expected AU$200-million, one of the real estate agents who co-listed the property shared that the agreed cost was “a really good one”.
- Author
Olivia Cole
