Macau casino operator Sands China Ltd has completed a previously-announced offering to investors, involving three series of senior unsecured notes in an aggregate principal amount of US$1.95 billion. The confirmation was provided by parent company Las Vegas Sands Corp on Thursday, in a filing to the New York Stock Exchange in the United States.
The notes were offered and sold in a private offering.
The operation was originally announced on September 10. That was prior to a Macau government announcement on September 14 about proposed changes to that city’s legal framework for the casino industry, including that the Macau government would need to approve Macau operators’ dividends, and that the government would use a delegate system to supervise each operator.
That news had an impact on the stock price of all Macau gaming operators. Sands China led a slump among gambling companies listed in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on the following day to the news, falling 32.5 percent to HKD16.84 (US$2.20) at the end of trading. The company’s share price stood at HKD16.18 as of the close of Thursday’s trading session in Hong Kong.
Regarding the new notes, Sands China had previously said the first tranche, amounting to US$700 million, would carry a yearly interest rate of 2.300 percent, and would have a maturity date of March, 2027. The second tranche is for US$650 million, bearing 2.850-percent interest annually, and matures in March, 2029. The third tranche of US$600 million, carries 3.250-percent annual interest, and matures in August, 2031.
Sands China intends to use the net proceeds of approximately US$1.93 billion from the offer and cash on hand to redeem in full the outstanding principal amount of its US$1.80-billion 4.600-percent senior notes due 2023, and any accrued interest and the associated make-whole premium.
