The Las Vegas Sands Corp (NYSE:LVS) announced on Monday that it has completed a slight restructure to it’s $3.3 billion Macau credit facility.
This move has been necessary to allow the operator to offer a minority share in the business for an IPO on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Casino operators Las Vegas Sands Corp have hit harder times and are currently looking at an initial public offering of its Macau assets and sale of peripheral business, in a bid to raise $3.5 to $4 billion. Las Vegas Corp currently needs approximately $2 billion to complete their latest hotel and casino project.
Las Vegas Sands Corp who also own the Sands casino resort in Macau and the Sands Casino resort Bethlehem in Pennsylvania, are also considering the sale of stores in the company’s Venetian resort in Macau, and condos and retail space in the neighboring four seasons property.
The move to a float on the HK market is proving a strong temptation with Steve Wynn also belived to be exploring the option, and MGM Mirage have been quoted as saying that although they need to improve their Macau numbers first they are certainly not ruling out an IPO.
Las Vegas Sands Corp have altered the Credit arrangement to include six quarters of covenant relief and the ability to both sell a minority interest of it’s Macau operations and also to issue senior secured or unsecured notes in Macau.
So LVS will go first as had been widely predicted. Sheldon Adelson has already announced that they have made headway on the Marina Bay Sands resort and Casino in Singapore, at the recent topping off for the three towers he stated that the complex would beging to open in phases during the first quarter of 2010. It is expected to have 1000 Hotel rooms, the main Casino, The MICE facility, restaurants and 50% of it’s retails space opened buy the end of February.
Las Vegas Sands Corp is raising $400 million to restart the stalled development on Macau’s Cotai strip, there is a slight chance that 3 major resorts so close could cannibalize from each other but on the other hand with LVS’s clear ability to trade in these Asian markets and trade well you would have to look at all 3 being highly successful when the financial climate picks up.
The financial future looks very healthy when you consider that even during the worst financial times many people have seen they will still complete both the Singapore development and the Cotai strip resort in Macau which will be a very large development containing Hotels from names such as St. Regis, Sheraton, Shangri-La, Traders, Hilton, Conrad, Fairmont, Raffles, Holiday Inn, and InterContinental.
The fact the las Vegas Sands are to go first will also be a boost to Steve Wynn, there are not many time when following a competitor to market can be a blessing, however when we look at the potential for the LVS sale to do well it can only only cast a positive glow on whoever goes next.
The winners during these financial troubles will be the proverbial last man standing and all things added up, in Macau at least this seems to be Sheldon Adelson and his Las Vegas Sands corp.
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