SANDS PAYS US$42.5m TO SETTLE OUT OF COURT WITH 3 BUSINESSMEN scmp.com
Las Vegas Sands Corp has paid US$42.5 million to settle a dispute with three Macau and US businessmen, Jose Cheong Vai-chi, Clive Jones, and Darryl Turok, who had claimed credit for helping the casino operator gain its Macau license in 2002. The figure was revealed yesterday as part of the company’s US$178.26 million second-quarter loss. The settlement was reached in June, just before a Nevada jury was to initiate a public hearing on the lawsuit.
The payment, along with a US$151.18 million write-down on the aborted sale of a shopping center in Las Vegas, contributed to Las Vegas Sands’ sixth consecutive quarterly loss.
CASINO GIANT AFTER THE CASH TO PLUG THE GAPS scmp.com
In LVS’ quest for cash, the company is marketing the sale of convertible bonds in attempt to raise US$400 million in short-term funding to withstand a cash shortfall and also to potentially restart construction of its stalled resort in Macau. The package consists of three sets of bonds: A 3-year bond paying 10% annually, a 5-year bond paying 13% annually, and a 10-year bond paying 16% annually.
The bond sale will be linked to the plan to raise US$2.5 billion in a Hong Kong IPO of its Macau operations early in 2010. Holders of the convertible bonds would have the option to swap the loans for shares in the newly listed company. The risk of lending to LVS is underlined by the considerable debt the company has already taken on and the impending tightening of debt covenants – the debt to earnings ceiling is lowering to 3.5x.
MACAU ACCUMULATES OVER 200 H1N1 CASES scmp.com
The total number of H1N1 cases reported in Macau exceeded 200 yesterday. Ten newly confirmed cases from Saturday to Sunday afternoon took the number to 204.
