At least 10 senior leaders at the company have left the business over this time. The group is currently without a chief executive officer.

The Star’s confirmation of interest from possible buyers came after an Australian Financial Review on that weekend that it had received a pitch from Hard Rock.

Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos owns The Mirage and other casinos in the US, as well as the Hard Rock Cafe brand. It has been seeking to enter Australia for years, and rumours regarding its potential interest in The Star emerged last year after the company’s share price tumbled.

The consortium is not the only group that has been keeping a close eye on The Star for the past six months.

The plunge in the company’s market value has also been watched by major shareholder and pokies billionaire Bruce Mathieson, hospitality giant Delaware North, Kuala Lumpur’s Genting Group and Blackstone-owned rival Crown Resorts.

Funds that specialise in buying the debts of distressed businesses have also looked at the Star, looking to hoover up what’s left of the business after the second Bell inquiry into the NSW business concludes and the size of its looming AUSTRAC penalty is revealed.

The financial crimes watchdog took legal action against The Star in 2022 alleging systemic non-compliance with Australia’s anti-money laundering laws, including that it failed properly assess the risk of money laundering by casino patrons.

Industry speculation has been swirling about the future of the embattled casino business, which owns two casinos in Queensland and one in NSW.

The market value of The Star has fallen from $5 billion in 2018 to just $1.5 billion six years later, making it ripe for a private-equity giant or hospitality business to swoop in at a big discount.

Star Sydney has until recently propped up the bottom line of the overall casino business, but analysts are less bullish on its outlook now that it has been forced to transition all of its NSW poker machines to cashless by August, and its relationship with the NSW regulator has all but been destroyed.

Macquarie puts the value of the Star Sydney casino at $667 million, while MST Marquee recently downgraded its $1.3 billion valuation of the Sydney business to just $473 million ahead of The Star’s trading update last month. Star said in its update that quarterly revenue from its VIP-only floor was down 20 per cent year-on-year.

If a deal was to progress, it would require approval from the state regulator.

Star is on the search for a new CEO following the departure of former boss Robbie Cook in March.

Loading

Former Crown Resorts boss Steve McCann is shaping up as the company’s preferred candidate for the role. McCann, who led Crown through its Blackstone acquisition after 12 years helming Lendlease, is one of the few senior executives to have emerged from either casino business over the past three years unscathed.

The Market Recap newsletter is a wrap of the day’s trading. Get it each weekday afternoon.