By Mia Lamar and Yvonne Lee
Dow Jones Newswires
Standard and Poor’s Ratings Services boosted its junk-level credit rating on Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) by a notch, citing the casino operator’s strong performance of late and future benefits from a proposed refinancing of its Macau operation.
The ratings upgrade leaves the casino operator two notches below investment-grade status, with a stable rating outlook.
The credit rater said the proposed Macau refinancing will add about $1.1 billion of debt to prefund development, but it still expects adjusted earnings to grow about 30% in 2011, which would improve operating lease-adjusted leverage.
Last month, Las Vegas Sands reported higher first-quarter earnings as revenue got a sharp boost from the company’s Marina Bay Sands operation in Singapore.
Sands China Ltd. (1928.HK), the Hong Kong-listed unit of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS), said Wednesday in a statement it has secured US$3.5 billion five-year bank loans and will have the option to raise another US$1 billion of financing.
The loan facilities are subject to approval from Macau’s government and final-loan documentation, the statement said.
The new bank loans will help the company to significantly reduce its interest expense and extend its debt maturities to 2016, it said.
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