Sands China raises $2.5 bln, low end of range

Sands China Ltd raised US$2.5 billion when it priced its Hong Kong initial public offering at the bottom of an indicated range, a source familiar with the deal said on Saturday.

Sands China, the Macau operation of Las Vegas Sands sold 1.87 billion shares, or about 24 percent of its enlarged share capital, at HK$10.38 each, compared with a range of HK$10.38 to HK$13.88, the source said.

The source was not authorised to speak on the record about the pricing.

Of the offered shares, 600 million are existing shares and the remaining are new shares. Sands China's trading debut is set for Nov. 30, under the symbol 1928.

Citigroup and Goldman Sachs are the joint global coordinators for the offer. The banks also are bookrunners for the deal, along with BNP Paribas BNP.PA, Barclays and UBS.

(US$1=HK$7.75) (Editing by Michael Flaherty and Carol Bishopric)