watch
now
Billionaire
investor
Mark
Cuban
is
selling
a
majority
stake
of
the
Dallas
Mavericks
to
Miriam
Adelson
and
her
family,
a
source
familiar
with
the
deal
told
CNBC.
Cuban
still
owns
a
stake
in
the
team
and
will
run
basketball
operations.
Adelson
is
selling
$2
billion
worth
of
Las
Vegas
Sands
stock,
or
roughly
10%
of
her
stake,
according
to
an
announcement
from
the
company. The
proceeds
will
be
used
to
buy
a
professional
sports
team,
the
casino
company
said
in
a
filing
Tuesday.
Adelson
and
her
family
are
the
largest
shareholders
in
Las
Vegas
Sands.
“We
have
been
advised
by
the
Selling
Stockholders
that
they
currently
intend
to
use
the
net
proceeds
from
this
offering,
along
with
additional
cash
on
hand,
to
fund
the
purchase
of
a
majority
interest
in
a
professional
sports
franchise
pursuant
to
a
binding
purchase
agreement,
subject
to
customary
league
approvals,”
Las
Vegas
Sands
said
in
the
filing.
Las
Vegas,
which
has
become
a
sports
mecca,
has
been
rumored
to
be
a
destination
for
an
NBA
team.
The
WNBA’s
Aces
play
there,
and
the
city
will
play
host
to
the
final
games
of
the
NBA’s
midseason
tournament.
The
league
did
not
comment
on
the
news,
and
the
Mavericks
referred
CNBC
to
the
Adelson
family
for
comment.
CNBC
has
reached
out
to
Cuban
for
comment.
Adelson
is
listed
as
the
fifth
richest
woman
in
the
world
by
Forbes.
She
and
her
family
inherited
56%
of
the
shares
of
the
world’s
largest
casino
company
when
her
spouse,
Las
Vegas
Sands
founder
Sheldon
Adelson,
died
in
2021.
At
market
close
Tuesday,
shares
owned
by
the
Adelson
estates
were
valued
at
more
than
$20
billion.
Shares
of
LVS
are
roughly
flat
year-to-date,
an
indication
investors
are
discounting
the
reopening
of
casinos
in
Macao,
where
the
company
has
the
biggest
real-estate
footprint
in
the
market,
and
in
Singapore.
Las
Vegas
Sands
disclosed
in
filings
Tuesday
that
it
will
buy
$250
million
worth
of
Adelson’s
shares.
The
company
announced
a
$2
billion
share
repurchase
authorization
during
its
third
quarter
earnings
call
Oct.
18. The
stock
fell
more
than
4%
in
extended
trading
following
the
news
of
Adelson’s
share
sale.
“As
we
consider
our
future
capital
return,
we
expect
share
repurchase
will
be
more
heavily
weighted
than
dividends.
We
believe
repurchases
will
be
more
accretive
than
dividends
over
time,
as
they
reduce
the
denominator,”
Patrick
Dumont,
Sands’
president
and
chief
operating
officer
and
Adelson’s
son-in-law,
said
on
the
earnings
call.
“We
fundamentally
believe
in
the
compounding
long-term
benefit
of
share
repurchases.”
Owning
a
sports
franchise
will
be
a
significant
departure
from
the
activities
that
Miriam
Adelson
and
her
late
husband
were
known
for.
The
couple
set
records
for
political
giving,
including
more
than
$218
million
to
Republican
and
conservative
causes
in
the
2020
election
cycle
alone,
according
to
the
Center
for
Responsive
Politics,
which
tracks
political
spending.
According
to
published
reports,
Miriam
has
recently
met
with
GOP
candidate
Nikki
Haley
in
Las
Vegas,
as
well
as
former
President
Donald
Trump.
As
a
medical
doctor,
Miriam
Adelson
is
also
widely
known
for
her
focus
on
addiction.
Born
in
Israel,
she
has
made
significant
philanthropic
donations
significant
toward
causes
that
improve
Jewish
relations
in
the
United
States.
Recently,
she
has
been
a
vocal
critic
of
people
protesting
Israel’s
military
response
to
Hamas’
terrorist
attacks
of
Oct.
7.
–CNBC’s
Jessica
Golden
contributed
to
this
article.
