Sands to Sell Las Vegas Properties for $6.25 Billion as it Focuses on Asia

“As we announce the sale of The Venetian Resort, we pay tribute to Mr. Adelson’s legacy while starting a new chapter in this company’s history,” Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Goldstein said Wednesday. “Asia remains the backbone of this company and our developments in Macao and Singapore are the center of our attention.”

The company’s exit from the U.S. gambling destination comes as the Covid-19 pandemic has roiled the casino industry with temporary shutdowns, reduced travel and limited occupancies. Hopes for a recovery this year depend on how many tourists and business travelers will return as vaccines are distributed.

Funds tied to Apollo Global Management Inc. will buy subsidiaries that hold the operating assets and liabilities of the Las Vegas business for about $1.05 billion in cash and $1.2 billion in seller financing in the form of a term loan credit and security agreement, Sands said. Real-estate investment trust Vici Properties Inc. will buy subsidiaries that hold the real estate and real-estate-related assets of the Venetian for about $4 billion in cash. The Apollo funds will also enter into a long-term, triple net lease pact with Vici for the properties, Apollo and Vici said.

Sands executives have said the company was also considering expansion opportunities in the U.S. in New York and Texas. The company will also explore opportunities in online gambling, President and Chief Operating Officer Patrick Dumont said.

Apollo said it sees the Las Vegas properties as having exposure to categories positioned for recovery and long-term growth, such as hospitality, meeting events, gaming and entertainment.

“This investment also underscores our conviction in a strong recovery for Las Vegas as vaccines usher in a reopening of leisure and travel in the United States and across the world,” Apollo Partner Alex van Hoek said.

The Venetian resort comprises a 35-story hotel tower with some 3,000 suites, a 12-story tower with about 1,000 suites and the 50-story Palazzo Tower, which has about 3,000 suites, according to its 2019 annual securities filing. The resort has about 225,000 square feet of gambling space, the company said in the filing.

The expo center has about 1.2 million gross square feet of exhibit and meeting space, the company said. It said it also has about 1.1 million square feet of meeting and conference facility that links the center with the Venetian resort.

Mr. Adelson’s rise from obscurity began when he started a trade publication for data-communications firms in the 1970s. He then launched Computer Dealers Exposition, or Comdex, which became a hugely successful trade exhibit held in Las Vegas and other cities. In 1988, needing space for his own exhibition center in Las Vegas to accommodate growing crowds, he bought the Sands hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip for $110 million, opening up a new line of business.

Write to Dave Sebastian at [email protected]