Sands China Ltd, recently-confirmed as provisionally approved for a new, 10-year casino concession in Macau, is to pay up to US$377 million over the course of three years from January 1 next year, for use of trademarks linked to a parent entity in the United States, Las Vegas Sands (LVS) LLC.
The information was in a Friday filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which said the deal was concluded that day, and runs from January 1, 2023 until December 31, 2025.
The annual payments are calculated based on a percentage of Sands China’s gaming and non-gaming revenue, and capped at US$114 million for 2023; US$125 million for 2024; and US$138 million for 2025.
Sands China gave some comparison figures for previous annual trademark payments and previous annual caps. In 2019, in pre-Covid-19 trading, it and its units had paid US$109.5 million in such licensing fees, relative to a US$133.1-million cap for that year.
Sands China stated: “In consideration for LVS granting our group the licence to use certain trademarks and service marks…, each licensee shall pay LVS an annual royalty at the rate of 1.5 percent of its gross non-gaming and gaming revenue.”
Sands China added: “Gross revenue shall be calculated according to U.S. GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) in effect as of January 1, 2023.”
The filing clarified that by “licensees” it meant units associated with Sands China, namely Venetian Cotai Ltd; Venetian Macau Ltd, the current Macau licence holder; Venetian Orient Ltd; and Cotai Strip Lot 2 Apart Hotel (Macau) Ltd, which is responsible for operation and management of the apartment-hotel tower at The Plaza Macao.
The deal grants “certain trademarks and service marks” to cover the group’s corporate identity in mainland China, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan, relative to the “design, development, construction, ownership, management and/or operation of casinos or gaming areas – including those casinos or gaming areas which form part of a hotel or an integrated resort”.
