Miriam Adelson, Las Vegas Sands’ largest shareholder, will sell $2 billion worth of shares in the company, representing about 10% of her stake, the company said in a statement.
The casino company said in a Tuesday filing that the proceeds would be used to acquire professional sports teams, but did not provide details about what sports, teams or cities Adelson would work with.
“We have been advised by the selling stockholders that they currently intend to use the net proceeds of this offering and additional cash reserves to fund the purchase of a majority interest in a professional sports franchise pursuant to a binding purchase agreement. “Subject to customary league approvals,” the Las Vegas Sands said in the filing.
The company’s shares were down about 5% after Tuesday’s close.
Since 2017, Las Vegas has become a top sports destination and could be an attractive target for Adelson.
It is home to the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, two-time WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, NFL’s Raiders, and hosts the Formula 1 Grand Prix. Major League Baseball owners have voted unanimously to allow the Oakland Athletics to move to Las Vegas.
There has also been speculation about the possibility of an NBA expansion team being established in Las Vegas, as the league is devoting more resources to the city by holding summer leagues and seasonal tournaments there.
The NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL did not respond to requests for comment.
Adelson is listed by Forbes magazine as the fifth richest woman in the world. When her spouse, Las Vegas Sands founder Sheldon Adelson, passed away in 2021, she and her family inherited a 56% stake in the world’s largest casino company. As of Tuesday’s market close, the stock owned by Adelson Estates was valued at more than $20 billion.
LVS stock has been roughly flat since the start of the year, a sign that investors are downplaying the company’s plans to reopen casinos in Macau and Singapore, where it has the largest real estate footprint in the market.
Las Vegas Sands said in a filing Tuesday that it will buy $250 million worth of Adelson stock. The company announced approval for a $2 billion share repurchase during its third quarter earnings conference on October 18th.
Patrick Dumont, president and chief operating officer of Sands, said, “When considering future capital returns, we expect share buybacks to weigh more heavily than dividends, because share buybacks reduce the denominator. “We believe that over time this will increase more than the dividend.” Adelson’s son-in-law said at the financial results conference. “We fundamentally believe that the long-term benefits of share buybacks are compounded.”
Owning a sports franchise would be a big departure from what Miriam Adelson and her late husband were known for.
The couple set records for political giving, donating more than $218 million to Republicans and conservative causes during the 2020 campaign alone, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political spending.
According to published reports, Miriam recently met with Republican candidate Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump in Las Vegas.
As a physician, Miriam Adelson is also widely known for her focus on addiction.
The Israeli-born actress has devoted significant amounts of philanthropy to the cause of improving relations with Jews in the United States.
–CNBC jessica golden Contributed to this article.