Star acquires Sheraton Mirage
Listed gambling company Star has confirmed plans to buy the beachfront Sheraton Mirage resort on the Gold Coast to create a “European Beach Club”.
The deal would put Star in a dominant position in the southeast Queensland market.
The purchase price is $140 million and it’s being done as Star works closely with Hong Kong-listed joint venture partners Far East Consortium and Chow Tai Fook.
The site will be complement Star’s Jupiters casino, hotels and apartment development at Broadbeach.
The group is already undertaking a $650 million upgrade of these assets ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Star chief executive Matt Bekier said it was a real opportunity to build tourism on the Gold Coast.
“The idea is that we expect to generate 1.4 million visits to Brisbane through Queen’s Wharf and then this is a fantastic opportunity to say after three days in Brisbane, ‘What are you going to do next?” Beckier told the Gold Coast Bulletin.
“Well, you go to one of the best beach resorts in the world.
“And there are not that many large-scale assets that are available in Australia that are bang on the beach.”
The deal means that Star has beaten its rival, James Packer’s Crown, which had been talking to the nominee for the second Gold Coast casino licence, ASF Group.
Star is buying the Sheraton off MiiResorts, previously known as Pearls Australasia and the local arm of Indian group Pearls, which had bought it back in 2008 for $62.5 million in 2008 and which had spent about $20 million upgrading the complex.
Star also has a 50 per cent stake in the Destination Brisbane Consortium which made a $213 million down payment to the Queensland government to secure the exclusive casino licence for Queen’s Wharf.
The other partners in the consortium are the Far East Consortium sitting on 25 per cent and Chow Tai Fook on 25 per cent.
by Leon Gettler, November 7th 2016
