The capital raise added more than 465 million shares to the company, more than doubling the number of shares outstanding. After falling from the $8 range to the $5 range after the accounting firm's dire assessment last week the company's share price rebounded on Monday's news of the successful capital raise, jumping back up past $6.50.
Today, with analysts revising their price target for the company downward because of the share dilution, shares in the company are trading in the mid $5 range. Little more than one year ago, the company's share price stood at $144.
On Monday, one week after revealing that it was in danger of defaulting on $5.2 billion in credit facilities secured by its US operations, the company announced the halt of construction at its active development sites worldwide along with weaker-than-expected third quarter results. In the US, the work stoppage includes the $600-million, 50-story condo tower it has been constructing on the Las Vegas Strip, in front of its new Palazzo resort, as well as everything except the casino at its $700-million, 124-acre Sands Bethlehem development in Pennsylvania.
Internationally, it includes its $11-billion Cotai Strip development in Macau, putting at risk its control over the entire project--including the properties it has already built--if it cannot extend the construction deadlines in its development agreement with the Macau government and obtain additional financing. Macau chief executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah said that the Macau government will not be assisting Las Vegas Sands Corp. through its financial situation. "I am not worried about any casino closing down as the government can take over the business temporarily until the economy improves," Ho said.
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