'Flabbergasted': Developer behind Hard Rock-linked bid slams Star, Barrenjoey over leaks
The entrepreneur behind a failed bid for the troubled Sydney casino has broken his silence over the bizarre incident, revealing he has referred the matter to ASIC.
The Brisbane property developer behind an audacious, failed bid for part of Star Entertainment – initially reported as involving US casino giant Hard Rock – has accused the ASX-listed company and its investment bank adviser Barrenjoey of leaking to the press to sabotage the deal.
Breaking his silence on the bizarre saga surrounding the owner of casinos in Sydney and Brisbane, Patrick Farrugia told Capital Brief he was compelled to speak up when the corporate regulator ASIC recently announced plans to clamp down on leaking by capital market operatives and dealmakers.
“We are just flabbergasted at the conduct and what occurred here,” he told Capital Brief. “We’ve worked with a lot of investment banks here and overseas before and we’ve never seen conduct like this before. And yet here they get away with it and it’s tolerated".
The surfacing and swift implosion of the Farrugia-led Star deal represents one of the year's more unusual episodes involving a major company on the ASX – albeit a scandal plagued one. Farrugia has now referred the situation to ASIC.
