LAS VEGAS - Las Vegas Sands Corp., the international casino empire run by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, must raise new capital or slash development spending -- or both -- by next month to keep its lenders at bay, the company said Thursday. News that the company might break its loan agreements sent its shares plummeting 33 percent.
Adelson, 75, whose personal wealth is largely tied to his ownership in Sands, has seen his stake's value plunge along with the company's stock price, which has dropped 93 percent over the past year to $7.85. At one point his shares were worth $30 billion, making him the country's third-richest man, but that value has shriveled to $1.9 billion.
If Sands can't raise capital and defaults on portions of its long-term debt, estimated at $8.8 billion by Thomson Reuters, the company said it would have to suspend some if not all of its development projects.
Instead, the Las Vegas-based company hopes to boost earnings in its hometown, the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Thursday.
But casino revenue has been down for months in Las Vegas as fewer gamblers travel there.
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