Sands adds CLSA to IPO, sets timing: sources

HONG KONG (Reuters) - CLSA has been added as a joint sponsor in the more than $2.5 billion Hong Kong IPO of Las Vegas Sands, sources said on Thursday, as other banks fight for a piece of the offering before it lists.

Goldman Sachs and Barclays, previously tapped for the IPO, are the global coordinators, with Goldman joining CLSA as a joint sponsor. CLSA is a regional brokerage and a unit of French bank Credit Agricole.

Meanwhile, UBS and Citigroup were top contenders to be the offering's joint global coordinator, the sources said.

The sources are directly involved in the offering but are not authorized to speak about the deal.

Sands is seeking approval for its IPO from the Hong Kong listing committee on Thursday. If it receives approval, the company will start pre-marketing next week and launch its marketing roadshow on November 9, with its trading debut due by the end of November.

French bank BNP Paribas had been granted a bookrunner role for the IPO, the sources said.

"The list of bookrunners and managers will be finalized on Friday," a source said.

Las Vegas Sands is seeking to list its Macao business on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, aiming to boost the value of its overall business.

The gaming and casino company has struggled under a heavy debt load and is looking to seize on an opportunity to have a publicly traded division in Hong Kong at a time when the IPO window has been thrown open. But that window is beginning to shut, with several recent IPOs downsized or pulled.

(Reporting by Kennix Chim and Michael Flaherty; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Chris Lewis)