The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The British Colonial Hilton’s owners will decide by month’s end which of the three bids to acquire Bay Street’s ‘anchor property’ they will accept, Tribune Business can reveal.

The parties vying to purchase the 288-room property include a New York-based developer who previously tried to take over South Ocean, and is backed by a $30 billion asset manager; a London-based consortium featuring the owner of the iconic Villa D’Este property on Italy’s Lake Como; and a group put together by Nassau -based businessman, James Mosko, head of the Mosko Group of Companies.

“By May 31, the British Colonial Board of Directors is going to make a decision on the offers, of which there are three,” one source close to developments told this newspaper.

The British Colonial Hilton is jointly owned by the Canadian Commercial Workers Industry Pension Plan (CCWIPP), the pension provider for Canadian supermarket workers, and Adurion, the Swiss/UK boutique investment house and private equity player.

Adurion has Board control, and Tribune Business sources said both shareholders were keen to exit by going through with the sale at the right price.

Tribune Business previously exclusively revealed that a $74 million offer to acquire the British Colonial Hilton had been submitted by a multi-billion dollar New York-based asset manager, which is working with Roger Stein.

Mr Stein, and his RHS Ventures company, previously attempted to take over development of New Providence’s still-closed South Ocean property.

However, that effort failed after the relationship between Mr Stein and his financing partner, hedge fund Plainfield Asset Management, ended in an acrimonious legal battle that ultimately saw both parties walk away from South Ocean.

That property reverted back to CCWIPP, its original owner, but it appears that Mr Stein has not given up on the Bahamas, the British Colonial Hilton marking his second attempt at striking a deal both with the pension fund and this nation’s resort industry.

Details of the other two offers are more vague, although there had been reports that the London-based group had offered more than $80 million in a bid to trump the Stein/fund manager bid.

Colliers, the Canadian/US real estate firm engaged to market the British Colonial Hilton to potential suitors, is heavily pushing the development opportunities offered by the 6.1 acres of seafront real estate immediately to the resort’s west.

Alam Pirani, the Colliers executive managing director who is spearheading the British Colonial Hilton’s sales, declined to comment when contacted by Tribune Business.

“I just can’t comment on the sales process. There’s nothing I can share with you,” Mr Pirani said, although he confirmed that the British Colonial Hilton was on the market, adding that the details were “in the public domain”.

Apart from the 288-room British Colonial Hilton itself, the assets for sale also include the 22,240 square foot Fort Nassau, and 83,300 square foot, Centre of Commerce office buildings.

And, to further sweeten the pot, there is the 6.1 acre parcel that “provides a unique and rare opportunity to acquire significant oceanfront real estate assets with prime development land in downtown Nassau”.

Describing the British Colonial Hilton “as the landmark building of Nassau, strategically positioned in the heart of Nassau’s financial district overlooking the Nassau Harbour”, Colliers added that it was “Nassau’s only full-service business hotel with resort-inspired amenities”.

The realtor said the deal was “further distinguished by its rare 6.1 acre undeveloped parcel in Nassau’s landlocked downtown.

“The lands provide a variety of exciting development options, including the potential for residential apartment and condominium developments, or new yacht marina, to name a few.”

And Colliers added: “The hotel and office components provide strong and stable income, as well as excellent value-enhancing potential.

“Significant recent capital expenditures providing strong continued upside in operating performance.”