Miriam Adelson, the majority shareholder of Las Vegas Sands (LVS), has plans to sell US$2 billion of her stake in the gambling conglomerate – about 10 percent of her holdings – in order to fund the purchase of a majority holding in the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, reports gaming specialist publication Inside Asian Gaming (IAG).
The announcement, which was made on Wednesday, saw a 3.5 percent dip in the value of LVS shares, with its subsidiary in Macao, Sands China, also experiencing a similar drop.
However, JP Morgan analyst DS Kim told IAG that Macao would not be affected in any meaningful way. “This should not have any impact on Sands China’s operation,” Kim said. “Adelson was not involved in the business.”
[See more: Sands China’s CEO is optimistic about Macao’s economic future]
The analyst stressed that the shares were being sold by “the widow of the founder of the parent company of Sands China, which has zero implication for Macao’s fundamentals.”
In addition, LVS has announced that it is intending to reacquire the same value of shares that Adelson is selling off over the next two years.
As the widow of LVS’ late CEO and chairman Sheldon Adelson, who passed away in 2021, Miriam Adelson and her family hold ownership of over half of the gambling giant. She is ranked 24 on the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans 2023, with a net worth of US$31.1 billion.
—With reporting by Kenny Fong
