Macau casino concessionaire Sands China Ltd says its U.S.-based parent, Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS), plans to increase its holding in the Macau unit to nearly 72 percent, from the existing 71.02 percent.
That is according to a Tuesday announcement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The Macau operator’s share price rose in the aftermath of the disclosure at noon local time.
The flagged increase in the holding of the parent would be the second incremental rise since the end of last year, as per filings. Between the two dates, the market value of Sands China’s shares is lower by about a third.
The share purchase programme of the parent for the Macau unit had been reiterated in a recent note from Seaport Research Partners.
The latest announcement said Sands China’s immediate owning entity, Venetian Venture Development Intermediate II – which is an indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands – arranged on Monday to “enter into a share purchase transaction with a financial institution”. The institution wasn’t name.
Under the exercise, Venetian Venture will pay “up to HKD800 million” (US$102.6 million) for the purchase of Sands China shares.
Sands China said that – based on Monday’s closing price of HKD13.42 per share – the aggregate amount equals the price of just over 59.6 million shares, representing approximately 0.74 percent of the firm’s total issued shares.
Sands China added: “It is intended that the company will continue to maintain sufficient public float of the shares following the settlement of the share purchase.”
In December, Sands China had said the U.S. parent was to up its interest in the Macau business to approximately 71 percent, from circa 70 percent.
The closing price quoted on that date was HKD20.20 per share, a value 33.6 percent higher than the closing price in the latest transaction.
That December 2023 exercise involved commitment to spend up to US$250 million.
Moody’s Investors Service Inc said in an April note regarding the parent Las Vegas Sands, that “share repurchases and the payment of dividends “remains a credit constraint” for the group.
