Hong Kong, Jan 6, 2026, 15:04 (HKT)
- SJM launched a cash tender offer for all outstanding $500 million 4.5% notes due Jan. 27.
- The Macau casino operator is marketing a new U.S.-dollar senior notes deal to refinance debt.
- Moody’s and Fitch kept a negative tilt, flagging high leverage and market-share pressure.
SJM Holdings said it has started a cash tender offer to buy back all outstanding $500 million 4.5% senior notes due on Jan. 27, as it moves to refinance the maturity with a new U.S.-dollar bond issue.
The calendar is tight. The tender offer closes on Jan. 12, while the company is already courting fixed-income investors for fresh money, a combination that underlines how closely Macau operators’ balance sheets are being watched.
The refinancing push lands as rating agencies keep a negative view on SJM’s deleveraging — reducing debt relative to earnings — citing uncertainty around the ramp-up of its Grand Lisboa Palace resort and the reshaping of “satellite” casinos, third-party venues operating under SJM’s licence.
In its offer document, SJM said it would pay $1,000 for every $1,000 of principal tendered, plus accrued interest, with settlement expected around Jan. 16, subject to conditions including completion of the new notes sale.
SJM International, a wholly owned subsidiary, is proposing an international offering of U.S.-dollar senior notes that will be sold outside the United States under Regulation S, a U.S. securities rule for offshore offerings. The company said proceeds would be used mainly to refinance existing debt and for general corporate purposes, with final size and terms still to be set by book-building.
Moody’s assigned a ‘B1’ rating to the proposed senior unsecured notes and said an upgrade of SJM’s ratings is “unlikely at present” given its negative outlook. “SJM’s Ba3 CFR reflects its long-standing presence in Macau’s gaming market and the city’s favourable long-term growth outlook,” Stephanie Lau, a Moody’s vice president and senior credit officer, wrote in the report. https://www.ggrasia.com/upgrade-of-sjms-ra…
Moody’s estimated SJM’s adjusted debt to EBITDA — earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation — at 8.3 to 8.7 times in 2025, and said it expected that leverage to improve to about 6.0 times in 2026 on higher earnings and modest debt reduction. It added that liquidity should be “good”, supported by cash and access to revolving credit facilities.
Fitch Ratings said it assigned a ‘BB-’ rating to SJM’s proposed senior unsecured notes and kept a negative outlook, warning of “heightened uncertainty” around the company’s deleveraging path. Fitch said SJM’s market share slipped to 11.8% in the third quarter of 2025 as its gross gaming revenue fell 5% from a year earlier, while the wider market grew 12.5%. https://agbrief.com/news/macau/05/01/2026/…
Fitch also pointed to weak performance at Grand Lisboa Palace, saying non-rolling gross gaming revenue — revenue from mass-market play excluding VIP rolling-chip turnover — rose 1% quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter despite efforts to boost the resort’s appeal through better connectivity and expanded retail and events.
SJM is one of Macau’s six casino concessionaires, competing with operators including Sands China and Wynn Macau for visitors and mass-market spend, where margins are typically higher than VIP play. Industry publication iGamingToday also reported the tender and refinancing plan as SJM heads into the January maturity.
