Owner of Marina Bay Sands exploring $8.2 billion sale of Vegas casinos

The portfolio includes the Venetian Resort Las Vegas and the Palazzo.

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) – Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corp is exploring the sale of its casinos in Las Vegas, according to people with knowledge of the matter, a move that would mark the mogul’s exit, for now, from the US gambling industry.

The world’s largest casino company, Sands is working with an adviser to solicit interest for the Venetian Resort Las Vegas, the Palazzo and the Sands Expo Convention Center, which together may fetch US$6 billion (S$8.2 billion) or more, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the talks are private. The properties are all connected along the city’s famous strip.

A representative for Las Vegas Sands confirmed it was in very early discussions about a sale and that nothing has been finalized.

A sale would concentrate Sands’ casino portfolio entirely in Macau and Singapore, where it owns Marina Bay Sands. They are the two larger casino markets for Mr Adelson, who ranks as one of the world’s richest people, with a fortune estimated at US$29.7 billion. The US was already a small and shrinking part of his business, accounting for less than 15 per cent of revenue last year.

The money could allow the company fund other development opportunities. Sands dropped out of the competition to build a casino in Japan earlier this year due to terms executives described as unfavorable. Mr Adelson, 87, has expressed interest in building in New York City, an opportunity that could arise next year.

The stock rose as high as 12 per cent in after-hours trading on Monday (Oct 26) after Bloomberg reported on the news of the deal. The shares had closed down 3.1 per cent to US$49.13.

Makes sense

With the global pandemic creating uncertainty in the Las Vegas convention business and an implied price for the properties of 12 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, a deal could make sense, Ben Chaiken, a Credit Suisse analyst, wrote in a research note late on Monday. He added the caveat that it’s not clear who would buy the casinos.

Mr Adelson is chairman, chief executive officer and the majority shareholder of Las Vegas Sands, which has a market value of US$37.5 billion.

Casinos in Macau, the world’s biggest gambling market, generated 63 per cent of the company’s US$13.7 billion in revenue last year, before the pandemic struck. Covid-19 has devastated the casino industry, as it has other businesses where people gather in large numbers, like movie theaters, concerts and restaurants. Singapore was second at 22 per cent.

Sands is expanding in both regions, with Macau alone earmarked for US$2.2 billion in spending.