Aquis Entertainment completes the sale of Casino Canberra

The casino has been sold to Iris CC Holdings.

Australia.- Aquis Entertainment has confirmed the completion of the sale of Casino Canberra. Iris CC Holdings purchased the property with an effective date of 1 January 2023 with a payment of AU$60.5m, including a deposit paid at signing.

Completion adjustments are to be calculated and agreed in the next few weeks. A further AU$2.5m in cash is being held in escrow to be released to Aquis in nine months from completion, subject to there being no warranty claims.

Iris CC Holdings forgave all accrued interest owed by Aquis, allowing it to repay its loan to its majority shareholder. The group expects to make a decision on the use of funds from the sale and the future of Aquis as a listed entity by the end of January. It will announce the decision to shareholders.

Aquis outgoing director and CEO Allison Gallaugher said: “As a Board, we are very pleased to have been able to negotiate and complete this transaction, which provides significant benefits to all stakeholders.

“As a CEO and employee, I am very excited to lead the Casino Canberra under Iris ownership and we look forward to continuing to grow the strong results we have built over the past few years and for the opportunities available for us all with Iris moving forward,” noted the executive.

Gallaugher will continue as CEO of Casino Canberra after resigning from her role as director and CEO of Aquis. 

Aquis dismissed a previous offer from Capital Leisure & Entertainment for which it had to pay an AU$1m break fee. The company reported AU$3.16m (US$2.16m) in net profit for the fiscal year 2022. Net sales increased from AU$14.5m (US$10m) to AU$17.8m (US$12.2m). Services revenue, which accounted for 92 per cent of all revenue, rose 23 per cent to AU$16.4m (US$11.24m).