The Baha Mar resort casino in the Bahamas has been sold to a Hong Kong-based offshoot of the property’s primary lender.
In August, the Bahamian government announced that the stalled $3.5b Baha Mar project had been sold to an unidentified buyer. The announcement prompted wide speculation as to the buyer’s identity but last week, Prime Minister Perry Christie’s office issued a statement revealing the buyer as Perfect Luck Holdings Ltd.
Perfect Luck turns out to be a special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up by Baha Mar’s primary creditor, the Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM). The bank reportedly opted to sell Baha Mar to Perfect Luck after none of the bidders came close to ensuring EXIM would recoup the full $2.45b it has contributed toward the project. The sale may also allow EXIM to temporarily offload its Baha Mar losses onto another company’s balance sheet until the ultimate sale concludes.
Christie said his office was prompted to release the statement based on “extraordinary statements” made by Baha Mar’s original developer, Sarkis Izmirlian’s Baha Mar Ltd, which filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2015.
Earlier this month, Izmirlian made public a letter he’d sent to EXIM claiming to have submitted a new offer for Baha Mar that was “superior economically” to all rival bids. Izmirlian claimed to be offering “a price in excess” of that submitted by Perfect Luck or by the party that ultimately purchases the property from Perfect Luck.
Izmirlian’s latest offer reportedly contains no hard numbers, only a promise to beat any serious bids, essentially amounting to Izmirlian offering EXIM a blank check. But Izmirlian offered no details as to where he might have obtained new financing, and there is as yet no indication that EXIM is taking Izmirlian’s claims seriously.
Christie’s statement indicated that Perfect Luck “may sell the resort to whomever it wishes,” subject to government approval. Izmirlian claimed EXIM would eventually sell Baha Mar to “an undisclosed Chinese party” once construction on the property is finished. Baha Mar was said to be 97% complete when Izmirlian’s company filed for bankruptcy.
Izmirlian’s letter also took shots at the auction process, claiming Baha Mar Ltd had been unfairly shut out of the bidding, while claiming that Perfect Luck had been selected “outside the receivers’ process.”
Christie’s statement challenged Izmirlian’s claims, saying the sale process had been approved by the Bahamas Supreme Court. Christie also said that if Izmirlian was truly in a position to make a “credible proposal” to acquire Baha Mar, then he should “engage seriously” with Perfect Luck to make that happen.
