One of Australia’s richest men, pub and poker machine baron Bruce Mathieson, is now equal largest shareholder in troubled Star Entertainment Group after acquiring a 9.97% stake in the company.
While it is unclear what Mathieson’s long-term plans for his 94,952,796 Star shares are, the self-made billionaire said this week that he saw long-term value in the company after taking advantage of its depressed share price to spend AU$142 million (US$96 million) on his new holding.
“I wouldn’t be buying it unless I thought it was good value,” he told The Sydney Morning Herald. “I like the assets of the company, I like the industry and I just think it’s something that [as] a long-term holding for my family will be great.”
Star’s share price has fallen from as high as $5.43 in March 2018 to AU$1.28 on 14 February this year. It closed at $1.50 on Thursday.
In announcing Mathieson as a substantial shareholder this week, Star noted that the company’s Constitution as well as certain agreements entered into with Liquor and Gaming New South Wales and the Queensland Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation prohibit any individual from holding a voting power of more than 10%, pending regulatory approvals and probity checks.
Mathieson, whose personal fortune is estimated at US$2.5 billion, controls hotels group ALH in partnership with supermarket giant Woolworths with ALH known to be the largest poker machine operator in Australia.
The entrepreneur told The SMH he would be open to joining Star’s Board of Directors if asked, noting that the current regulatory climate – with Star facing hundreds of millions in fines and a potential massive increase to its gaming taxes – represented a unique opportunity to buy-in cheap.
“You might have bought a house last month because [you think] it’s cheap and you think you are going to get value,” he said, “but there are not many assets like [Star’s] in this field and in this country that I like.”
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