Less than 18 months seems to be the timeframe Steve McCann needs to get a beleaguered Australian casino group acquired and be out the door, having done so now for the second time as he departs The Star Entertainment Group (ASX: SGR) as CEO and managing director tomorrow.
There are some echoes in the announcement of his time at Crown Resorts, where he joined as CEO in May 2021 and left in September 2022 after it was acquired by global investment firm Blackstone for $8.9 billion.
The executive, who before becoming a casino turnaround specialist was CEO at Lendlease (ASX: LLC) for more than a decade, is set to step down after a year and five months with the group, having formally become CEO on 1 July last year.
McCann's duties will be taken on by recently appointed chair Bruce Mathieson Jnr, who through his investment vehicle along with US casino giant Bally's recently acquired a combined majority stake in The Star as a $300 million financial rescue package was converted to equity following approvals from regulators in NSW and QLD.
Negotiation of this refinancing was just one of the key features of McCann's tenure at The Star, where he also oversaw remediation efforts which, though hardly exemplary, managed to secure deferrals for casino licence suspensions in the two states where the group operates.
While he was CEO the company also grappled with leadership volatility at its Gold Coast casino, and the dual challenges of trying to keep up with stringent regulation while carded play dented revenues and likely incentivised gamblers to head to competing pubs and clubs that do not face this requirement.
McCann also had to stare down a first strike for The Star's remuneration report a few months into his reign, with a portion of shareholders taking umbrage with his remuneration structure that was, in the company's words, "not typical market practice".
At the time the package was valued at $10 million, but has been seriously diminished by a steady fall in the group's share price as its finance teetered on the brink of collapse. His remuneration of $4.95 million in FY25 ended up being just shy of that of his predecessor Robbie Cooke a year earlier, and the performance rights he still holds are worth $1.4 million.
Shareholders were more supportive at The Star's more recent annual general meeting (AGM) in late November with more than 95 per cent of votes cast in favour of the remuneration report, despite a dismal proxy vote performance with just 35.5 per cent in favour.
The executive also needed to manage strained relationships with Hong Kong-based joint venture partners, with which it has co-ownership in the Queen's Wharf project in Brisbane as well as the Dorsett and Andaz tower hotels next to Star Gold Coast.
McCann has agreed to remain available to assist the company through a handover period in relation to government and regulator interaction until 8 July 2026.
"The strategic investment by Bally’s Corporation and Investment Holdings Pty Ltd provides an opportunity for The Star to move in a new direction and pursue a pathway to recovery and future growth," he says.
"Now is the right time for new leadership to be put in place with the experience and passion to build on that momentum and take The Star forward.
"I want to thank our 8,000-strong workforce for their commitment and resilience throughout a challenging period. Their dedication has been central to safeguarding the business and positioning it for its next chapter."
Mathieson Jnr and the board have thanked McCann for his strong leadership and hard work "during one of the most complex and challenging periods for The Star".
"Steve joined at a time of crisis for The Star and has helped to deliver a critical financial reset for the business and successfully progressed our remediation plan, which have laid the foundations for The Star’s long-term future success," the now executive chair says.
"We wish him well in his next endeavours."
In its FY25 annual report, and in response to the first strike to the remuneration report in the previous calendar year, The Star's culture, people and remuneration committee chair Michael Issenberg said McCann had demonstrated "commitment and impact" in his first year as CEO.
"Notably, he was instrumental in successfully identifying and executing on initiatives to support the stabilisation of the group," Issenberg wrote in October.
"Securing the strategic investment of Bally’s highlights Mr McCann’s skills and industry profile as the Star represents Bally’s first investment in the Australian market. The resounding investor support for the investments, with all resolutions receiving over 98 per cent support at the June general meeting, further supports the board’s rationale for Mr McCann’s appointment.
"Mr McCann joined the Star at a time of heightened complexity and uncertainty. The board firmly remains confident that his leadership, skills, experience and track record are essential to continued progress of the group’s remediation and transformation journey and understand the importance remuneration plays in attracting and retaining key talent."
But now that the group is officially under new ownership with Ballys and pokies and pubs baron Mathieson Jnr is at the helm, the company may be able to reduce its cost base without McCann's services now that the handover is complete.
An enormous contrast in attracted investment between McCann's two experiences at The Star and Crown reflects just how much sentiment for the sector's prospects has soured in the past few years, based on the commercial reality of what stricter casino regulation enforcement means in practice. And that's not to mention the ramifications of a capital-intensive joint venture partnership at Queen's Wharf that has sapped The Star's financial position.
While the $300 million to $8.9 billion buyout comparison is not like-for-like due to many reasons, including that the new majority investors in The Star own 60.86 per cent of the company whereas Blackstone bought 100 per cent of Crown, the performance gap is nowhere near that wide.
For the last financial result that is publicly available from Crown for the first half of FY22, it reported revenues of $778.6 million and a loss of $196.3 million, compared to 1H25 results at The Star of $650 million in revenue and a loss of $302 million.
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