Bruce Mathieson, born in Cobden, Victoria,[1] is an Australian businessman, sometimes referred to as a 'billionaire pub baron'.[2] He is known for his influence in the Australian pub, hotel, and gambling sectors.[3][4][1]
As of 2022, Mathieson and his family collectively own 45% of all poker machines in the state of Victoria.[5] Mathieson reportedly owns 15% of Endeavour Group, a company that owns 340 pubs as well as the Dan Murphy's and BWS liquor chains.[6] In 2022 Mathieson retired from directing that group, and was replaced by his son, Bruce Mathieson Jnr.[6]
Career
Mathieson purchased his first hotel in the mid-1970s, and expanded his portfolio under the Bruce Mathieson Group. By year 2000 he was operating 35 venues in Victoria.[3] In 2000 he negotiated a joint venture with Woolworths that subsequently purchased the ALH Group in 2004 for A$1.4billion. Many of the venues owned by ALH Group operate poker machines.[7][8] As a result of the venture, Woolworths and Mathieson jointly became the largest poker machine operators in Australia.[3][1]
In 2023 Mathieson took a 10 per cent stake in the Star Entertainment Group.[10][11][4] His stake fell to 6.35 per cent after a September 2023 equity raise. Mathieson purchased about A$3million of Star shares in October 2023.[9] In February 2024, Mathieson increased his stake in Star to 8.21 per cent.[12]
Personal life
Mathieson has multiple children. His son, Bruce Mathieson, Jnr, succeeded him as director of Endeavor Group and ALH Group.[13][14] He has two daughters, who own a significant number of poker machines.[15] Due to his family members ostensibly owning the poker machines independently, their ownership does not exceed the 35% cap on state-wide poker machine ownership.[16][15]
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