ANZ may repossess Stadium Aust

[DIEHARD]

TELSTRA Stadium may have hosted one of the country's greatest sporting triumphs last week - the Socceroos' World Cup qualification victory against Uruguay - but its financial future remains far from certain.

The company that operates the 80,000-seat arena, Stadium Australia Group, has struggled to make a profit since its disastrous float 8? years ago. And talks are under way which could see its banker take full control.

Despite a high-profile board including rugby great Mark Ella and gold medallist Ralph Doubell, as well as a membership list that reads like a who's who of Sydney, the stadium is considered one of the city's most prominent white elephants.

At last count Stadium Australia owed ANZ Banking Group $131 million and it is struggling to repay the debt, admitting in its latest accounts that it wouldn't meet its due date. But ANZ may have discovered a solution.

It is understood the bank's infrastructure services division is in the early stages of doing due diligence on Stadium Australia. The idea is for ANZ to buy the company and use it as the seed asset of a new social infrastructure fund, which could then be listed on the stock exchange down the track. The deal would allow the bank to wipe the debt off its books.

At this stage no firm proposal is on the table.

"We are aware of the disclosure requirements, and as and when there's something that should be disclosed, you can be sure that it will be," Stadium Australia's chairman, Paul Isherwood, said this week.

It is not clear what sort of price tag the company would attract. It has a market capitalisation of less than $10 million but its directors value Telstra Stadium at $154.5 million. A spokesman for ANZ declined to comment.

Stadium Australia's float is widely recognised as one of the biggest Australian corporate flops of the late 1990s. It was complicated - membership packages, including Olympic tickets, were linked to shares in the company. And the float ended up being undersubscribed by $236 million. The shortfall was picked up by the underwriters, and one former executive of Deutsche Bank was known to have complained bitterly about having a membership to the stadium thrown in as part of his bonus. Deutsche Bank is still a major shareholder, with just under 10 per cent of the company.

Some believe the best deal for Stadium Australia would be a merger with the Sydney Football Stadium, which could generate synergies of about $4 million a year, according to a source close to the SFS.

About two years ago, Bab**** & Brown tried to do a deal with Stadium Australia with a view to merging it with the SFS, but the talks broke down.

"We've had so many loose conversations with so many people suggesting so many different ideas, I wouldn't want to single out any particular one," Mr Isherwood said.

Source: http://www.SMH.com.au

[League Freak]

Considering it hold pretty much every major footballing event in Sydney...the fact its in that position is a disgrace!

[The Original Idiot]

The fact it's not a perfect rectangle is a disgrace.

[Queenslander]

For a stadium which can accomodate for 80000 fans and can host football, rugby league, rugby union, cricket and afl.....and not make a profit is ridiculous

[The Original Idiot]

Nobody particularly wants to use it except Souths.

[Queenslander]

Nobody particularly wants to use it except Souths.

And they will pull huge crowds

[DIEHARD]

Nobody particularly wants to use it except Souths.

Dogs, Tigers and Swans.

[Eel 33]

The prices for food and drink seem to be more expensive than the other stadiums in sydney too. Its not getting any cheaper too take the family to the footy either. :erm: