Las Vegas Sands Corp., the casino company led by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, voted a special dividend that will reap its controlling shareholder about $1.2 billion before an expected increase in federal taxes.
The Las Vegas-based company voted to pay the $2.75-a-share dividend, its first such distribution, on Dec. 18 to investors of record on Dec. 10. This month, the company also increased its regular annual dividend by 40 percent to $1.40 a share.
With about 437 million shares of Las Vegas Sands, or around 52 percent of the stock, according to an April regulatory filing, Adelson and his wife Miriam will collect $1.2 billion from the special dividend and another $611 million annually. The special dividend takes effect before an expected increase in dividend taxes from the current 15 percent.
“We have every intention of increasing the dividend in the years ahead as our business and cash flows continue to grow,” Adelson said on a Nov. 1 conference call. “I can only say one thing about that, ‘Go Dividend.’”
Companies are paying special dividends at four times the pace of last year as Congress is poised to let the tax on dividends rise next year. Rival Wynn Resorts Ltd. declared a $7.50-a-share payout and a doubling of its quarterly dividend to $1 a share last month.
Las Vegas Sands shares rose 4.7 percent to $46.08 in extended trading Monday, after easing percent in regular trading.
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