The investment consortium behind the $1.2 billion Cable Beach project was yesterday said to be “optimistic” that a deal could still be salvaged and were proceeding as best they could with their plans, although there was no word on whether Philip Ruffin would return to the negotiating table.
The Baha Mar group, which has as its lead investor Lyford Cay billionaire Dikran Izmirlian, was yesterday locked in further talks with the government as they attempted to make progress on their plans to acquire the three Cable Beach strip hotels and turn the destination into a mega-resort to rival Atlantis, based on a Las Vegas-style Casino model.
However, even the investors themselves were said to be uncertain of Mr. Ruffin’s intentions.
The Wichita-based entrepreneur owns two of the three hotels Baha Mar is seeking to acquire, the Wyndham Nassau Resort – Crystal Palace Casino, plus the Nassau Beach Hotel, but the 120 day period in which the consortium held option to complete their purchase expired on February 17.
As a result Mr. Ruffin is no longer locked into that option and can walk away from the potential sale of his hotel properties.
He told The Tribune on Friday that the deal he had with the Baha Mar investment consortium was “cancelled” and no extension to the February 17 deadline would be granted.
A business executive, who requested anonymity, said that failure to conclude the Cable Beach deal could present a “re-election risk” for the Christie administration, given that the Bahamas is just over two years away from an election.
Source: Neil Hartnell, The Tribune
