Kerzner Turns Over Atlantis Bahamas
Kerzner International Holdings Ltd., which built the Atlantis resorts in the Bahamas and Dubai, has turned over ownership of its flagship property in Nassau to Brookfield Asset Manage-ment as part of a debt restructuring plan.
According to Bloomberg, Toronto-based Brookfield will forgive $175 million of junior debt in exchange for ownership of the Atlantis and the Bahamas One&Only Ocean Club, along with a 50 percent interest in the One&Only Palmilla in Mexico.
Kerzner also made a deal with lenders to restructure its operating debt, Bloomberg reported.
“This transaction will permit Kerzner to move forward as a management company,” Chairman and CEO Sol Kerzner said in a statement. It allows the company “to get back to doing what we do best—designing and managing world-class destination and luxury resorts under the Atlantis and One&Only brands.”
Kerzner International was taken private in 2006 for $3.6 billion by a group led by Kerzner. Owners include Dubai World’s Istithmar, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Whitehall Funds and Colony Capital LLC of Los Angeles.
The 76-year-old Kerzner built what his company calls the “mythical city of Atlantis” on a property in Paradise Island once owned by TV host and businessman Merv Griffin.
A $1 billion expansion, launched in 2007, added hotels and a new dolphin habitat and expanded the Aquaventure water park. The properties acquired by Brookfield had about $2.6 billion in debt when negotiations began in 2010. That is reduced to about $2.3 billion under the deal, with Brookfield’s forgiveness and a $100 million payment that was part of a maturity extension.
The Kerzner company will continue to run Atlantis Paradise Island and the One&Only resorts, according to the statement. Atlantis the Palm in Dubai, jointly owned with Dubai World, is not affected.
