(Reuters) – Las Vegas Sands Corp said on Wednesday it would sell its Las Vegas real estate property and operations for about $6.25 billion, as the casino operator focuses on Asia and growth opportunities in new markets.
The deal comes as the gambling industry, largely dependent on travel and tourism, reels from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The properties include the Venetian Resort Las Vegas and the Sands Expo and Convention Center.
Funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management Inc will buy the operating company of the Venetian, for $2.25 billion and VICI Properties will buy the land and real estate assets of the Venetian for $4.0 billion.
Las Vegas Sands, the biggest operator of casinos by revenue on the Vegas Strip, said the deal underscores the company’s strategy of reinvesting in its Asian operations, with a focus on Macao and Singapore.
Shares of the company were up 3% in premarket trading.
Las Vegas Sands’s properties in Macau and Singapore accounted for 48% and 35% of total revenue in 2020, respectively, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.
“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,” said Alex van Hoek, partner at Apollo Global Management.
(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas and Noor Zainab Hussain Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
