Operator News
US – Apollo’s take over of Sands’ Las Vegas assets gets the green light
By Phil - 4 February 2022
The Nevada Gaming Control Board has recommended the Nevada Gaming Commission approve the $6.25bn deal for Apollo Global Management to buy the Venetian, Palazzo, and the Venetian Convention and Expo Center from Las Vegas Sands Corp.
The deal will see VICI Properties own the land and Apollo owning the operations with a lease deal on the property from VICI costing an initial at $250m a year.
David Sambur, co-head of private equity at Apollo, described the Venetian as a ‘fantastic asset’ adding ‘we intend to carry on their legacy.’
He said: “If there’s any asset that is an infrastructure asset, it’s the Venetian. It’s the fifth largest convention center in the US. It’s a special asset in its ability to service group meetings, large conventions, and gaming customers. There is room for growth, and we see that opportunity. Our philosophy is we’re going to empower the management teams to continue to operate.”
Apollo already owns Yahoo, PlayAGS and Great Canadian Gaming and has shares in Ladbrokes Coral in the UK and Aliante Casino in Las Vegas.
Mr. Sambur revealed that if all of its businesses were combined Apollo would be the 15th largest company in the US. He said: “Gaming has been a core vertical of ours. Clearly, Caesars wasn’t our most successful investment, but everything else we’ve done in the gaming sector has been quite good, whether our new investment in Canada or PlayAGS in the heart of Las Vegas. We like the industry a lot. It’s a growth and cash-flow industry.”
