Las Vegas Sands to Raise $2.14 Billion

By Ryan Nakashima

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Struggling casino operator Las Vegas Sands (LVS Quote) said it suspended several projects and has agreements to raise $2.14 billion in new capital, including new funding from its billionaire chief executive, Sheldon Adelson.

The announcement, amid worse-than-expected results for the third quarter, came after the company said Thursday it was in danger of breaching lending conditions Dec. 31 and defaulting on $5.2 billion in credit facilities secured by its Las Vegas operations.

Jefferies & Co. analyst Lawrence Klatzkin said the funding announcement eased worries that the company was headed for bankruptcy.

"The whole solvency risk question is gone," he said. "And if they really have this financing, then they can complete almost all the projects they were expecting on time."

Analyst Bill Lerner of Deutsche Bank agreed.

"The capital raise is a real sigh of relief," he said. "When you combine it with delaying or stopping some projects indefinitely, it's really a save-the-company type of decision."

But the conference call took on a surreal air, starting more than 30 minutes late after President Bill Weidner said "late-breaking events interceded."

The company proceeded to give operating profit guidance for 2012, years beyond the current debt crisis, including an estimate of annual operating profit of $1.26 billion out of a Singapore casino that has yet to be built, which was greeted with a skeptical question by an analyst.

Adelson responded that the estimates were "extraordinarily conservative."

"We've scrubbed those numbers six ways to Sunday and it's difficult to get it down," he said. The 75-year-old founder controls 67% of the company's shares with his wife Miriam Adelson.