Iris Launches New Bid for Reef Casino Trust
Iris Cairns Property Pty Ltd, as trustee for the Iris Cairns Property Trust, lodged a Bidder's Statement with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and Reef Casino Trust (ASX: RCT) after the close of trading on September 24, 2026, launching a fresh off-market takeover bid for every RCT unit it does not already own.
The unconditional cash offer values the remaining units at $4.67 each, and is open for acceptance from October 8, 2026 until 7pm Sydney time on Monday, November 9, unless Iris extends it.
The new offer follows an earlier off-market takeover bid by Iris that completed on August 14, 2026, which lifted its holding in RCT to approximately 85.77% of units on issue.
Having fallen short of full ownership in that first round, Iris is now making a further approach to mop up the remaining units still held by minority unitholders, rather than waiting for a possible second opportunity down the line.
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Iris Says It Intends To Compulsorily Acquire The Rest
The Bidder's Statement is explicit about Iris's end goal: it states that Iris intends to compulsorily acquire outstanding RCT units once it is entitled to do so under the relevant thresholds in the Corporations Act, a step that would be followed by RCT's removal from the ASX.
RCT's responsible entity, Reef Corporate Services Limited (RCSL), has told the market that an Independent Board Committee will assess the Bidder's Statement and respond in a Target's Statement, which will include an independent expert report, and has advised unitholders to take no action until that response is published.
Who Is Iris, And What Reef Casino Trust Owns
RCT is an ASX-listed registered managed investment scheme that owns and leases out the Reef Hotel Casino complex in Cairns, North Queensland. RCSL, jointly owned by Casinos Austria International Limited and Accor, acts as RCT's responsible entity, while Casinos Austria International (Cairns) operates the casino and hotel complex under a sub-lease.
Iris Group, trading as Iris Capital, is an Australian development and hospitality group led by chief executive Sam Arnaout that already owns and operates a range of hotels, pubs and casinos around the country, and the bid would fold RCT's Cairns asset more fully into that portfolio.
Low Liquidity Cited As A Reason To Sell
Iris's Bidder's Statement points to RCT's historically thin trading volumes as a reason for unitholders to consider the offer, arguing that units with low liquidity can be difficult to sell on-market in a single transaction, and that the bid gives holders a chance to cash out their entire position at once at a premium to recent trading prices.
The outcome will depend on how many unitholders accept, and on the view the Independent Board Committee takes once its Target's Statement is published.
How A Compulsory Buy-Out Would Work
Under Australia's Corporations Act, a bidder in an off-market takeover becomes entitled to compulsorily acquire the securities it does not already hold once it reaches a 90% relevant interest in the target, provided it also picked up at least 75% of the securities it did not already own during the course of the bid.
Reaching that threshold would let Iris sweep up any unitholders who do not accept the offer, rather than being left with a residual minority stake, and clear the way for RCT to come off the ASX altogether.
