The Star has reached a sale agreement with its co-investors in the $3.6 billion Queen’s Wharf development in Brisbane and The Star Gold Coast.
Both assets offer considerable event space and hotel inventory.
Much of the original sale plan, announced in March, still stands, with The Star to trade its 50 per cent stake in Queen’s Wharf to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium in return for full ownership of The Star Gold Coast, in which the trio are also co-investors.
The deal also comes with the original $53 million in cash for The Star alongside an earnout payment of up to $225 million in 2030, based on the equity value of the Destination Brisbane Consortium, which owns Queen’s Wharf. Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium will also repay The Star the $10 million it had to pay when the last deal fell through.
In addition to its Queen’s Wharf exit, The Star will hand over the Treasury Hotel Brisbane, the Treasury Brisbane car park and its 50 per cent share in the Charlotte Street car park.
Importantly, the deal releases The Star from making equity contributions to Queen’s Wharf, from the end of March 2025 and into the future, which the business had expected to be at least $212 million.
The deal also suggests The Star will not operate within Queen’s Wharf in the future, with terms of the deal referencing The Star’s cooperation to transition to a new operator for the casino, The Star Grand hotel and the Events Centre. The timeline on this transition is not clear however.
The transaction is set to take place in two parts with The Star’s divestment of its Destination Brisbane Consortium stake to be completed by November 30, 2025, while the transfer of full ownership of The Star Gold Coast to The Star Entertainment Group and its handover of the Treasury Brisbane Hotel and its share of the two Brisbane car parks will be completed at the earliest by July 1, 2026 and at the latest by March 31, 2027.
The sale is subject to a number of approvals – including regulatory – and other conditions.
