Las Vegas Sands seeks to take its Macao unit public in HK

Updated: 2009-05-16 07:45

(HK Edition)

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Las Vegas Sands seeks to take its Macao unit public in HK

HONG KONG: Debt-burdened US casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp has hired Goldman Sachs to look at a potential Hong Kong listing for its Macao unit, a source familiar with the plan said Friday.

The hiring comes as Sands said this week it would cut 4,000 jobs, or about 20 percent of its workforce in Macao where the company operates the world's largest casino.

Macao has been hit hard by the global financial crisis. Sands halted expansion into a new project in Macao late last year as it had struggled to secure funding of between $1.5 billion and $2 billion to complete the development, although it had previously expressed hope that it would find new investors and resume construction.

Las Vegas-based Sands already operates two casinos in the city: the Venetian Macao - the world's largest casino resort - and the Sands Macao.

"They are considering (the IPO), but nothing is confirmed until they file for it, and it hasn't happened yet," said the source.

The source declined to be identified because the information has not yet been made public.

Goldman Sachs declined to comment. Las Vegas Sands was not immediately reachable.

Casino operators in Macao have been hit hard by a supply glut and heightened competition sparked when the enclave was booming, as well as visa restrictions on mainland Chinese visitors, who had been a major source of business.

The hiring of Goldman for a potential Hong Kong IPO - first reported by Euroweek - comes after the company last week said its first-quarter net loss had widened from a year earlier as the recession also kept gamblers and tourists at bay at its casinos in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas Sands last year stopped work on its $12 billion, 20,000-room complex of hotels and casinos on Macao's Cotai Strip amid near-frozen credit markets, dwindling revenue and the risk of defaulting on some loans.

Reuters

(HK Edition 05/16/2009 page2)