Australia’s Iris Hotels Group has put forward a “confidential, non-binding and highly conditional proposal” to acquire the Reef Hotel Casino, located in far north Queensland, and associated entities from its current owners, including Casinos Austria International.
The proposal was revealed by ASX-listed Reef Control Trust (RCT) on Wednesday amid media speculation that it had entered into an agreement with Iris regarding a potential transaction.
In a statement, RCT said that the Board of Directors of Reef Corporate Services Ltd (RCSL) – the responsible entity of RCT – had received a proposal from Iris to acquire 100% of the units in RCT for consideration by the board of RCSL (Proposal). The proposal also contemplates the acquisition of RCSL and of Casinos Austria International (Cairns) Pty Ltd, the operator of the Reef Hotel Casino.
“To facilitate the exploration of the proposal, the board of RCSL has determined to grant Iris a four-week period of exclusive due diligence. Discussions remain confidential and incomplete and there is no certainty that the discussions will lead to a transaction,” RCT explained.
Iris Hotels Group is part of Iris Capital, which owns Casino Canberra and Lassiters in Alice Springs, as well as dozens of pubs and hotels across Australia.