Baha Mar offered funds by Izmirlian

Baha Mar’s original developer Sarkis Izmirlian.

As of Friday, October 30, 2015

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

BAHA Mar’s developer Sarkis Izmirlian has reportedly offered to inject more of his own money into Baha Mar to prevent the project from going into full liquidation.

Bloomberg Business, an international news agency, reported yesterday that Mr Izmirlian made the offer to government officials this week as talks between the Christie administration, joint provisional liquidators, China Construction America Inc and the Export-Import Bank of China continue.

Government officials yesterday did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.

Mr Izmirlian, according to Bloomberg, is said to “have asked for collateral and a senior ranking among other creditors to protect his additional investment” as part of his deal to inject an undisclosed amount of funds into the project.

This is not the first time he has reportedly offered to provide additional money for Baha Mar since the megaresort’s problems began.

Despite already having an $850 million equity in the project, he offered in July to put up $200m to restart the $3.5bn project as part of Baha Mar’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the United States.

At the time, State Minister for Legal Affairs Damian Gomez expressed incredulity at his offer, wondering where the money would come from.

Along with the Chapter 11 proceedings, his offer was ultimately rejected.

Supreme Court Justice Ian Winder granted a request this week to have a hearing for the government’s winding up petition against Baha Mar delayed until November 25. The matter was originally expected to go forward on November 2.

This gave negotiators additional time to hopefully reach a deal to resurrect the stalled development.

Failure to reach one will prompt full liquidation processes to begin, making the resort’s future particularly uncertain.

Last week, Baha Mar’s court appointed joint provisional liquidators got approval from the Supreme Court to make 2,020 employees redundant.

The joint provisional liquidators, Bahamas-based KRyS Global and UK-based AlixPartners, said the layoffs were due to the financial insolvency of the $3.5 billion resort project that has been stalled since June 29.

The layoffs sparked renewed criticism of the parties involved in the matter, including the government which pushed for the liquidators to be appointed and have Baha Mar’s fate decided in the Bahamas court system.

Despite the project’s bleak circumstances, Prime Minister Perry Christie said last Friday that he looks forward to Baha Mar opening “in the not too distant future” and remains optimistic after talks with stakeholders.

“I happen to have the responsibility for the reputation of the (government of the) Bahamas and because I am aware of the commitment of the government of the People’s Republic of China to ensure the just outcome comes about in this matter, I am speaking with great optimism,” Mr Christie said last week.

“And notwithstanding the dark clouds that have emerged, they will soon shift.

“And even those people who were employed and who face (difficultly) in their present situation will find that the government of the Bahamas will not desert them,” Mr Christie said.

More like this story

Sickened 9 years ago

Planet Christie must be a beautiful place. Where everyone you meet hands you wads of cash but does not ask you for favours in return. I can hear the birds chirping and the children's laughter now.

JohnBuchanan 9 years ago

If this is accurate, Izzy is just trying a last desperate attempt to save his own a$$. And it's too late. The die is cast. China is in control and is acting accordingly after Izzy and his inept "management team" alienated ExIm Bank and China Construction. They will assume control of the project and then it will get completed, probably under a new name (the Baha Mar brand is dead -- murdered by horrendous PR and the cheating of many consumers with bookings for the March 27 opening) and possibly with one or more new hotel partners. The big question is how long it will take to get open.

realfreethinker 9 years ago

The chinese got what they always wanted. They knew if they had tried to get the hotel done on their own government would have refused. They loan Izzy the money and just before the place was completed they pulled the rug from under him,now the Chinese state own one of the largest piece of prime land in this side of the planet. It was all facilitated by this inept government. Brush on yall mandarin cause yall ger need it.

Honestman 9 years ago

You might well be correct. China can afford to lose a few billion dollars on the project in order to create a stranglehold on the Bahamian economy. From the Chinese perspective they have just purchased another vote at the United Nations.

Sickened 9 years ago

I doubt Baha Mar will continue as a hotel for too long. Cable Beach will be renamed 'China's Western Naval Yard'. They will paint the whole thing 'battleship grey' and tell our Government that its only the primer. I wonder where they will store their short range nuclear missiles?

SP 9 years ago

..................... Perry Christie needs to stay out of big peoples business .....................

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Sarkis Izmirlian allowed P.M. Christie to fall flat on his backside, and make a national and international fool of himself.

P.M. Christie settled down to his own level, and rightful place in this equation.

Izmirlian is now stepping back into the picture, picking up where he left off and leaving Christie right where he put himself with a very large poop stain on his face and irreversible legacy of being totally untrustworthy and incompetent.

How P.M. Christie and his PLP clowns could be so ignorant to believe an individual that already injected an $850 million equity investment into a project could possibly be "personally bankrupt or insolvent" defies reasoning.

Small minded Perry Christie never understood for Sarkis Izmirlian the chapter 11 was about "PRINCIPLE, NOT MONEY"!

Moving forward the real fireworks will be seen from this point, as Sarkis Izmirlian flex's his muscles.

I've said from the very beginning, and will say again....Christie picked a totally unnecessary fight with a formidable opponent that he simply CANNOT EVER, EVER, EVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER WIN!

realfreethinker 9 years ago

http://tribune242.com/users/photos/2015…

TruePeople 9 years ago

Thats the new Bahamaian Flag aye? Hi-Yaaah!

TheMadHatter 9 years ago

They getting ready to tief his $800 million and he wanna give them more? Man, my good Sir, if you got money to give away like that, I could e-mail you my bank account number please? I PROMISE I will make much better use of the money than your current plan.

Respectfully...

TheMadHatter

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