Embattled Australian operator Star Entertainment continues its tailspin with dwindling cash reserves, but recent filings have shown that two shareholders have increased their stakes in the company.<\/strong><\/p>\n Star\u2019s 2025 kicked off with bad news as the group announced<\/a> on 8 January that its cash reserves had fallen to AU$79 million (\u00a340 million\/\u20ac47.4 million\/$48.9 million) at the end of 2024. That total includes the first AU$100 million tranche from its new debt facility<\/a>, which was drawn on 3 December. <\/p>\n This means that in the last three months of the year, Star\u2019s available cash fell by AU$107 million. The company attributed this to multiple factors, including \u201cdifficult trading conditions\u201d, fees and contributions to its Queen\u2019s Wharf joint venture, \u201csignificant\u201d legal and consulting expenses and the first AU$5 million instalment of the AU$15 million fine from New South Wales (NSW) regulators in reference to the Bell Two inquiry<\/a>. <\/p>\n There is still another AU$100 million tranche that could be drawn from, but Star must fulfil certain requirements to access it. The company acknowledged that those conditions \u201cremain challenging to meet given the group\u2019s current circumstances\u201d. Still, recent filings indicate that some investors are doubling down. <\/p>\n A pair of ASX filings yesterday (14 January) showed that two shareholders are increasing their positions. The first is global powerhouse JPMorgan Chase & Co<\/a>, which now holds about 182 million shares for a 6.3% stake in Star. This comes two weeks after the 2 January announcement<\/a> that the bank\u2019s stake was around 5%.<\/p>\n The other bullish investor is Mr Xingchun Wang, who increased his stake from 5.5%<\/a> to 6.5%, or about 187 million shares<\/a>. Not much is known about the mystery businessman, but some have reported that he has ties to Macau<\/a>. <\/p>\n Regardless, Wang is now Star\u2019s second-largest shareholder. He trails only Chow Tai Fook (9.6%), Star\u2019s business partner in Queen\u2019s Wharf. <\/p>\n The ongoing investment may not be enough to save Star from collapse. The company is still in the process of massive remediation efforts at its flagship Star Sydney property following the Bell Two ruling. <\/p>\n The NSW Independent Casino Commission will once again assess Star\u2019s suitability for licensure in the state at the end of March. If its licence is revoked, that would open up a whole new set of difficulties<\/a>.<\/p>\n Melbourne-based consultant Peter Cohen, who also served as a regulator for decades, questioned whether the operator would make it that far. He posited to iGB that Star might be \u201cnearing the death zone\u201d in that it might be \u201cimpossible to remain financially viable\u201d. <\/p>\n Bailouts are rarely popular and state governments are even more averse to being seen as sympathetic or helpful to the gaming industry, Cohen said. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n \t\t<\/main><\/p><\/div>\n![\"Entertainment](\"https:\/\/igamingbusiness.com\/img-srv\/fR0CjH-giE8PmUYSUBKuDPi7bVJ_pmcQoFkjZrtWdOI\/resizing_type:auto\/width:0\/height:0\/gravity:sm\/enlarge:1\/ext:webp\/strip_metadata:1\/quality:90\/bG9jYWw6Ly8vaWdhbWluZ2J1c2luZXNzLmNvbS93cC1jb250ZW50L3VwbG9hZHMvMjAyMC8wOC9BdXN0cmFsaWFfMTBfMC5qcGc.webp\")
<\/p>\n<\/picture>\nJPMorgan and\u2026 who? <\/h2>\n
Avoiding the \u201cdeath zone\u201d <\/h2>\n