Australia's Star Entertainment secures $390 million refinancing lifeline from WhiteHawk

By Rajasik Mukherjee

March 30 (Reuters) - Australia's ‌Star Entertainment said ​on ​Monday it had secured a binding commitment for $390 million in refinancing from funds associated with WhiteHawk Capital Partners, giving the casino operator liquidity ‌to stabilise its balance sheet.

The announcement comes nearly a month after ⁠Star said in late February that it had reached an in-principle refinancing agreement with U.S.-based private credit ‌investment manager WhiteHawk.

Announcing its results ‌for the first half of the fiscal year 2026 on February 27, the company said it had secured a waiver for its financial covenants due on ​December 31, 2025.

Under the waiver, Star was required to deliver a refinancing commitment letter by March 31, and execute the refinancing by May 15 to avoid ⁠a default.

The three-year facility will fully refinance its existing group debt and deliver incremental liquidity to support day-to-day operations, ​Star said.

"The WhiteHawk refinancing is the oxygen Star Entertainment Group desperately needed," said Marc Jocum, senior product and investment strategist at ​Global X ETFs.

"It removes near-term default risk and ‌buys management time, shifting the narrative from survival to execution."

Star has been battling high debt levels and prolonged regulatory pressure after multiple ⁠inquiries found widespread serious compliance failures at its casinos, triggering fines, operating restrictions and tighter oversight.

The fallout has weighed on earnings and cash flow, forcing the company to seek repeated ⁠covenant waivers from lenders, pursue asset sales and line up refinancing to remain within its loan ​terms.

"But this isn't a cure... unresolved AUSTRAC (Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre) penalties, a suspended Sydney licence, and ongoing revenue softness mean fundamentals remain fragile," Marc said.

Cash-strapped Star said it was working ‌to complete the refinancing by no later than May 15. The deal requires the firm to maintain minimum liquidity of ‌A$50 million ($34.3 million) in the first year, rising to A$100 million over time.

Shares of the ⁠company were down 4%, as of ‌2320 GMT, broadly in line ​with a 1% decline in the benchmark ASX200 index.

($1 = A$1.4594)

(Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Sumana Nandy and ‌Subhranshu Sahu)

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