Sands Seeks Funds to Resume Macau Work

LAS VEGAS (TheStreet) -- Casino company Las Vegas Sands (LVS Quote) is seeking as much as $2 billion to resume dormant projects in Macau.

Chief Operating Officer Michael Leven told Bloomberg the company aims to receive financing commitments from lenders by the end of this month to revive certain lots of its 21,000-room hotel and casino complex on Macau's Cotai Strip.

Sands estimates the total cost for the project to be around $3.6 billion and expects it to be complete by June 2011. Besides the $1.6 billion Sands already has spent on its four hotels, the company is willing to contribute additional equity in the project, Leven said, without giving an amount. Leven said Goldman Sachs is managing the financing arrangements.

Construction on the projects was halted last year after credit markets froze and revenue growth slowed, Bloomberg notes.

Reports this month have Sands planning to list as soon as next month its Macau assets on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Rival Wynn Resorts (WYNN Quote) held its initial public offering for its Macau assets earlier in October.