Casino Canberra will be sold for $10 million more than the value of a deal agreed to last month, after another group led by a Sydney pub owner and property developer made a higher offer for the gambling venue.
Hong Kong-based Aquis Entertainment will sell the casino for $63 million to Iris CC Holdings, after the company outbid the Sydney based Oscars group, which also owns a group of pubs.
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Aquis Entertainment told the Australian Securities Exchange on May 26 it had agreed to sell the casino to Oscars for $52 million.
On July 5, Aquis told the exchange a third party had made a substantially higher offer for Canberra Casino but that Oscars would now pay $58.2 million for the venue.
But a day later, Aquis revealed Iris CC Holdings had made a $60 million bid for the casino, which it was considering.
Aquis this week told the securities exchange it had entered a new deal worth $63 million with Iris CC Holdings, and would pay Oscars a $1 million break fee if the deal proceeds.
Aquis Entertainment and Casino Canberra chief executive Allison Gallaugher said she was excited to work with Iris on the improvement of the business.
"The revised transaction represents a considerable value uplift to the company and its shareholders and recognises the continued strong operating performance and potential of the business," Ms Gallaugher said.
Iris sole director Sam Arnaout said: "We are excited about the opportunity to acquire Casino Canberra and look forward to working collaboratively with the Aquis team in the future."
The deal requires Aquis shareholders to approve the sale and ACT liquor and casino regulatory sign off.
Mr Arnaout's Iris Capital, established in 1995, owns pubs across Australia and also develops property.
Aquis Entertainment Limited announced in January 2020 a long-awaited deal to transfer the casino's ownership to Blue Whale Entertainment had been terminated.
The deal had been contingent on Blue Whale obtaining approvals from the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission before December 21, which it failed to do. Blue Whale owner Michael Gu disappeared in 2020 after his iProsperity property empire collapsed under hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.
Blue Whale had unveiled plans in December 2018 to buy the casino, in a complicated transaction that would have seen it become the majority shareholder in the companies that own and operate the venue, Aquis Entertainment Limited and Casino Canberra Limited.
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The announcement came less than a fortnight after the ACT government knocked back Aquis' controversial, unsolicited proposal to redevelop the casino precinct with luxury hotels, high-end shopping outlets, bars, cafes and a convention centre.
At the time, then Casino Canberra boss Jessica Mellor said new gambling laws and government decisions "not to make certain land available" had made it difficult to progress the proposal.
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Hong Kong billionaire Tony Fung resigned as the casino's chairman in 2021, citing conflict of interest concerns and saying it was appropriate for an independent board to take charge of Aquis Entertainment, which owns the Civic venue, after six years at the helm.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined the Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine on Saturdays. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined the Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine on Saturdays. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
