Las Vegas Sands Owners Buy Majority Stake in Dallas Mavericks

This is a massive move with enormous implications 

BREAKING NEWS

Markets are reeling after a massive deal in the sports and entertainment world got finalized overnight. Here's the headline: Miriam Adelson, the largest shareholder of the Las Vegas Sands is selling $2 billion of her stake to buy a majority share of the Dallas Mavericks from Mark Cuban. LVS stock is getting crushed and NBA fans in Dallas woke up really nervous today. Let's jump on the details:

WHAT HAPPENED

News initially broke last night of Miriam Adelson selling $2 Billion worth of LVS shares to buy 'a sports team.' Initial speculation was around Adelson's intent to bring a new franchise to Las Vegas after the Oakland Raiders made the move a few years back and the Oakland Athletics MLB franchise had their move approved recently. 

This morning, however, news broke that Mark Cuban had sold his majority share in the Mavericks to Adelson, so that complicates the speculation here. Cuban has already discussed the possibility of bringing a casino to Texas and attaching it to a new arena in Dallas for the Mavericks. Adelson's purchase here could be a part of kicking off a new casino empire in Texas as gambling is set to take off there. 

MAKING MOVES

While the Mavericks could still be slated for a move to Vegas, there's no concrete news about Adelson's plans here at time of publication. Mark Cuban will still retain a share of ownership in the team and run basketball operations. This announcement comes after Cuban announced his retirement from the popular Shark Tank TV series, so all these moves could be part of a broader plan for his future. 

WHY IT MATTERS

In the short term, the immediate effect here is a massive devaluing of LVS stock given how big of a sale this is. While Las Vegas Sands is on a strong footing and will bounce back, selling over 5% of the shares of a $36 billion enterprise is going to crush their valuation for now. LVS will easily recoup this value over the next few years as Miriam Adelson either leverages the Mavericks to keep transforming Las Vegas into a. sports mecca thanks to every major sport potentially having a team in town, or establishes a new gambling center in Texas around a new Mavericks facility. The sports and gambling landscapes are shifting at warp speed while Online Sports betting takes over and the market comes to terms with the incredible value live sports still has in this new media landscape. For now, LVS stock fell over 4% in early trading and the online Dallas Mavericks community is in shambles.