Macau casino operator SJM Holdings plans to raise approximately US$991 million in two series of borrowings to refinance loans tied to the development of the company’s Grand Lisboa Palace.
The U.S. dollar senior notes are being placed privately. They consist of $500 million at 4.5 percent interest and due 2026 and $500 million at 4.85 percent and due 2028.
Hong Kong-listed SJM announced the sales in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Initial buyers are reported to include several of China- and Hong Kong-based banks. Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau, SJM’s Hong Kong-listed controlling shareholder, also has subscribed to around $79 million of the notes along with a number of directors of SJM and its affiliates.
Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service maintain “negative” outlooks on SJM’s credit profile, citing concerns about the speed of the company’s recovery from the Covid crisis and the expected slow ramp-up of the $5 billion Grand Lisboa Palace, which is slated to open in Macau’s Cotai resort district in the first quarter.
SJM directly operates five casinos in Macau and shares in the revenues of 15 others whose operations are leased to third parties.
