Las Vegas Sands
’ largest shareholder is making a big bet on the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. The casino operator’s stock is tumbling.
Miriam Adelson is selling $2 billion worth of shares,
Las Vegas Sands
said in a filing Tuesday. That’s around 10% of her stake in the company. The casino giant said Adelson intends to use the proceeds to buy a majority interest in a professional sports franchise.
The franchise in question is the Dallas Mavericks, The Wall Street Journal reported, with Adelson, the widow of the company’s founder Sheldon Adelson, set to buy a majority stake from entrepreneur Mark Cuban.
Adelson and a family trust in her name own around 57% of Las Vegas Sands stock, the company said in the filing. That will drop to approximately 52% after the offering, which is priced at $44 per share and expected to close Friday. The company said it expects to repurchase up to $250 million of shares in the offering.
Investors typically don’t like large stock sales as they can generate volatility. A major shareholder making a big sale can also spook investors and raise concerns about the reason behind it, and therefore what it means for the company’s prospects.
However, Adelson’s reason for the huge sale is clear. She wants to own an NBA team, and is using Las Vegas Sands stocks to help fund that dream.
The stock, which is 0.8% down as of Tuesday’s close, pointed 4.4% lower ahead of the open Wednesday.
Wynn Resorts
stock was 0.5% higher, while
MGM Resorts International
climbed 1.3%.
Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@barrons.com
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