Could Wynn Macau's IPO Raise $1.63B?

Wynn Macau's initial public offering of 1.5 billion Hong Kong shares is priced to raise $1.63 billion for Wynn Resorts, the cash-strapped Las Vegas-based casino operator owned by Steve Wynn. Wynn Resorts planned to sell a 25 percent stake in the Macao casino project. So far, Las Vegas Sands Corp. chief executive Sheldon Adelson also plans a similar IPO of its Macao project to raise cash.

Supposedly confidence is high that gaming will continue to rise in Asia and the demand for Wynn Macau stock is rumored to be strong. (Of course, it is probably Wynn spreading those rumors . . . ) But even so, if the Macao IPO works and can provide quick cash to the company, both Wynn and Adelson would be fools not to capitalize on it. Both casino operators are creating expensive Asian projects while credit markets are still unlikely to thaw. The fourth-largest global IPO couldn't have come at a better time.