The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A key Sarkis Izmirlian ally yesterday blasted PLP chairman, Bradley Roberts, as “in over his head”, adding that Baha Mar’s original developer is “happy to show he has the money” to reacquire the development.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, a former Baha Mar director, told Tribune Business that Mr Izmirlian’s repeated efforts to engage the China-Export Import Bank represented a “genuine attempt” to successfully complete Baha Mar, rather than “sour grapes”.

Speaking ahead of his ratification as the FNM’s candidate for Montagu last night, Mr D’Aguilar urged the Christie administration to “get over” its annoyance at Mr Izmirlian’s failure to give prior warning of his Chapter 11 strategy.

Arguing that the Government did not understand the Chapter 11 process and benefits, Mr D’Aguilar said Mr Izmirlian used it as a ‘last resort’ to save the Baha Mar project and his family’s $800-$900 million investment.

The ex-Baha Mar Board member added that Mr Izmirlian was being ‘bled dry’ at the rate of $15 million per month after China Construction America (CCA), the project’s general contractor, failed to meet the project’s completion deadline and “walked off” the job site without offering a solution.

Having explained why Mr Izmirlian acted as he did, Mr D’Aguilar reiterated that he “just can’t understand” why the Government is not pushing the Chinese to engage with Mr Izmirlian, especially given the latter’s pledge to beat all rival offers on price.

He was speaking, though, ahead of last night’s confirmation that Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, the Hong Kong-based conglomerate formed by the late billionaire, Cheng Yu Tung, and now owned by his family, is Baha Mar’s prospective purchaser (see other article on Page 1B).

Earlier, responding to the PLP chairman’s calls for Mr Izmirlian to prove he has the necessary financing to acquire Baha Mar, Mr D’Aguilar stormed: “Bradley Roberts is clearly in over his head, and doesn’t understand how this works.

“I’m sure he’s [Mr Izmirlian] happy to show the money, but he has no one to show it to or negotiate with. It’s not sour grapes. He’s been knocking at the door for many months.

“This is a genuine attempt to buy his baby, his project, on which he and his family could lose close to $1 billion, to a successful conclusion. He’s $1 billion into it. What more a demonstration of ‘show me the money’ is that?

“Mr Roberts, God Bless him, is the pit bull of the PLP. He doesn’t have the foggiest idea of how this business works, and he engages in character attacks and taking down people who disagree with his brand of politics. He’s full of you know what.”

Mr Roberts’ comments, though, will likely strike a chord with those questioning whether Mr Izmirlian ever had the financing to take Baha Mar out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, yet alone the $600 million-plus said to be necessary for the project’s construction completion.

Baha Mar’s original developer has never disclosed his financing sources, and some observers are querying why Mr Izmirlian has left it so late - almost to the point where the project and his family’s investment is confirmed as lost - to give a ‘blank cheque’ offer.

However, Mr D’Aguilar argued that Mr Izmirlian had never been given a chance to provide proof of financing because the China Export-Import Bank, Baha Mar’s secured creditor which is owned by the Beijing government, appeared determined to freeze him out regardless of his offer’s price and quality.

“How do you want him to show you the money? Put $1 billion on the Cabinet table?” Mr D’Aguilar asked. “He wants to negotiate, and they’ve just frozen him out.

“Let’s negotiate. If he’s going to pay and do the things he says he’s going to do, negotiate with him. If he says he’s going to pay more than anyone else, OK.”

Mr D’Aguilar said that given the $1 billion worth of investment incentives already granted to the Baha Mar development, the thousands of Bahamian jobs and double-digit GDP impact that are at stake, it was in the Government’s interests to “get the best possible deal” for the project’s completion and opening.

“Insist the Chinese talk to him,” Mr D’Aguilar urged the Government on Mr Izmirlian. “Sit down and talk. The lack of interest in engaging with him, I just can’t understand it.

“He’s obviously an interested purchaser. Why not talk to him? Let water go by under the bridge and make the best deal for the country.

“Sarkis Izmirlian wants a meaningful conversation, he wants to be engaged. What more of a demonstration can one provide than all he has done so far? Go on his record and look at what he has cobbled together. What’s on the ground has been his brain child, his idea.”

Mr D’Aguilar said he could understand why the Christie administration feels “slightly p* off” that it did not receive adequate warning of Mr Izmirlian’s intentions to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last June.

The Government, and especially the Prime Minister, appeared to treat this as a personal betrayal and snub, believing Mr Izmirlian had ‘gone behind their backs’ while Mr Christie was seeking to negotiate a resolution with the Chinese.

This was alluded to again by Mr Roberts, yet Mr D’Aguilar urged the Government to swallow its pride in what he described as the best interests of the Bahamas, as there were valid reasons for Mr Izmirlian acting as he did.

Secrecy is paramount prior to Chapter 11 filings to ensure creditors are not tipped-off, and Mr D’Aguilar acknowledged that Mr Izmirlian did not inform the Government for fear its first subsequent telephone call would have been to the Chinese.

“You keep throwing it in his face; get over it,” he told Tribune Business. “When you undertake Chapter 11 proceedings, you have exhausted all other avenues.

“The Chinese were stonewalling, and they had missed the deadline. It’s quite normal, when you miss a deadline, that you withhold payment until the contractor tells you how they will resolve this problem.

“The Chinese never did that, and completely overreacted by walking off the job site. At some point you have to fish or cut bait. Somehow, Sarkis was turned into the big bad wolf.”

Mr D’Aguilar said Mr Izmirlian spent $15 million per month for three months to keep Baha Mar afloat but, being bled financially and with no solution in sight, was forced to turn to Chapter 11 to preserve his investment and keep the project intact.

“Mr Roberts fails to understand that when you go into Chapter 11, it’s a clearly defined process and strategy to get a desired result,” he added.

“He [Mr Roberts] tries to distract you from the fact that their approach has gouged this project out of Mr Izmirlian’s hands, and they have sided with a group that has failed to deliver: Bottom line.”