What is Las Vegas Sands selling, to whom and at what price? Recent weeks have been hot and heavy with speculation about what Las Vegas Sands may or may not be selling in Macau, at what price, and to whom. Analysts expect that the casino developer, controlled by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, will run into more trouble with its bankers this year unless it is able to boost profits by slashing costs and/or raising new finance by selling stuff. Recent talks with potential buyers for the company's half-finished 6,400-room Sheraton and Shangri-La hotel complex on Cotai have yet to result in a deal, and All In suspects a wide chasm between asking and offer price will take some time to close. The sale of residential units at its Four Seasons development appears to be moving along, albeit slowly. The process has been complicated by the reluctance of Macau banks to issue mortgages to would-be buyers of the pricey apartment-hotel units. Lenders have hesitated because the buyers won't acquire strata title but shares in a company that owns the flats. And then there is the potential sale of the company's shopping malls in Asia, which span 1.3 million sq ft between the Venetian and Four Seasons hotels in Macau. Las Vegas Sands has hired Goldman Sachs to entertain bidders for the malls and has previously said it had 19 interested parties. Speaking in Hong Kong yesterday, the firm's Asia president, Stephen Weaver, said bids on the malls were due in about one week's time. Seventeen potential bidders remain after several interested parties consolidated their efforts, according to Mr Weaver (who despite this week's executive firings in Macau is still Asia president). Asked about rival Melco Crown Entertainment's City of Dreams resort complex - which is scheduled to open across the street from the Venetian in only two months' time - Mr Weaver said he looked forward to meeting some of their customers just as City of Dreams no doubt anticipated acquainting itself with the Venetian's patrons. 'Our view is that any visitor to the Cotai Strip is a good visitor,' he said. Gaming operators' shares jump 20pc on good revenue news Shares in Macau gaming operators jumped nearly 20 per cent in Hong Kong yesterday after the unofficial March casino revenue figure came in at a better-than-expected 9.5 billion patacas. The haul was Macau's best since August - before a VIP junket credit crunch and Beijing's visa restrictions began to really bite. It was also Macau's sixth biggest month on record. That was enough to send Melco International Development up 18.25 per cent to HK$2.98. Galaxy Entertainment added 11.2 per cent to finish at HK$1.39. In the United States, Las Vegas Sands leapt 24.25 per cent - helped by news that majority owner Sheldon Adelson bought up around 8 million shares in the company. Optimists no doubt read early signs of a rebound in the March figures. Revenue was still down 6 per cent from a year earlier, when the VIP market was peaking on a subprime-credit-fuelled binge. But the haul probably means that the damage from overly aggressive credit issuance by junkets has started to resolve itself, and the VIP market is on track to regaining equilibrium. That would be welcome relief from Macau's roller-coaster ride over the past 15 months. Then again, March's big win might be down to pure luck.
