Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) stock is trading lower today after the casino and resort company announced a $2 billion proposed secondary public offering from Dr. Miriam Adelson and The Miriam Adelson Trust. The sale will represent about 10% of Adelson’s stake. Las Vegas Sands will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale.
Following the completion of the offering, the company plans on repurchasing up to $250 million of the shares offered. The repurchase will be conditional on the completion of the offering. If enacted, the company will acquire the shares at the same per-share price as the underwriters of the offering.
Adelson is the widow of former Las Vegas Sands CEO and Chairman Sheldon Adelson. The Adelson family is the largest shareholder of LVS stock. According to Forbes, the family is worth $31.7 billion, while Adelson is the fifth richest woman in the world.
Adelson Plans to Sell $2 Billion of LVS Stock
Adelson isn’t planning on selling some of her stake just for fun. She plans on using the sale proceeds to acquire a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks, an NBA basketball team, from entrepreneur and fellow billionaire Mark Cuban. Following the sale, Cuban will still own a stake in the team and be involved with team operations.
According to The Atlantic, the sale will value the Dallas Mavericks at $3.5 billion. Cuban acquired the team for $285 million in 2000 from H. Ross Perot Jr.
Las Vegas Sands had this to say in a regulatory filing about the sale:
“We have been advised by the Selling Stockholders that they currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering, along with additional cash on hand, to fund the purchase of a majority interest in a professional sports franchise pursuant to a binding purchase agreement, subject to customary league approvals,”
The past few years haven’t exactly been compelling for LVS stock. Shares of the company are now down by about 7% this year, bringing its all-time return to a loss of about 13% when excluding dividends.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
