A view of signage at Star Entertainment’s The Star casino in Sydney, Australia, March 3, 2025. REUTERS
Dec 1 (Reuters) – Star Entertainment has elected Bruce Mathieson Jr. as chairman, cementing the billionaire Mathieson family’s grip on the embattled casino firm after the family and U.S. gaming group Bally’s converted their rescue loans into equity.
Chairwoman Anne Ward has resigned as a director of the company, Star said in a statement on Monday.
Sydney-based Star, Australia’s second-largest casino operator, had been scrambling to stave off bankruptcy as years of regulatory scrutiny left it cash-strapped when Bally’s and the Mathieson family tabled a A$300 million ($196.32 million)rescue package.
The appointment came alongside a number of other board changes which saw Bally’s chair Soo Kim and president George Papanier appointed Star board members as nominees of Bally’s. The U.S. company now controls about 38% of Star Entertainment while the Mathieson family has a 23% interest.
Mathieson Jr. is the scion of former director at Endeavour Group which operates the Dan Murphy’s liquor store chain in Australia.
Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Ronojoy Mazumdar
