Seyed M. Moghani confirmed that his group only recently incorporated their company just in time for the deal to go through.
Documents filed with Florida Department of State are stamped July 2006 and lists as managers Keith R. St. Clair, Seyed M. Moghani, Fernando A. Alvarez, Fernando J. Alvarez, Viridian C. Barbeito, Idalberto Rodriguez and Raul Perez.
Mr. Moghani said the group has already raised the $170 million it plans to use to redevelop Royal Oasis, which has been closed for nearly two years.
He said his partners all have experience in property development, and he has owned and managed 11 Holiday Inns. The group has as its Bahamian partner architect Lawrence Chisholm.
“Weﾒre a strong group,” Mr. Moghani told The Bahama Journal. “All of us have background in property development. This is not a big deal to have this project and turn it around.”
And one other thing, he noted, “Weﾒre wealthy.”
Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe is convinced.
He said one of the principals of WIH has a trust worth $1 billion and described WIH as a consortium of businesspeople, who include doctors and investors.
But the minister also admitted, “I donﾒt know much about them.”
He said, however, that when one puts their wealth together, itﾒs pretty impressive.
“So, itﾒs a very interesting group of people,” Minister Wilchcombe said.
WIH signed a deal with Lehman Brothers, the resortﾒs mortgagee, just over two weeks ago to purchase Royal Oasis, beating out the Irish-based Harcourt group, which at one point appeared to be the frontrunner to purchase the resort.
Kirk Antoni, Harcourtﾒs Freeport-based attorney, wished not to comment on the failed deal, but the Bahama Journal learnt that Harcourt was willing to pay $30 million to purchase Royal Oasis, but was not willing to pay the $1 million non-refundable deposit Lehman had reportedly been asking.
Mr. Moghani, who is based in Florida, confirmed that his group was willing to pay the non-refundable deposit, and did so. Minister Wilchcombe, meanwhile, said no money came from the government for the deal.
WIH has agreed to pay $40 million for the Royal Oasis, and Mr. Moghani said his group is going to “take care” of Grand Bahamians looking for jobs.
“We are there to stay,” he assured, noting that the project will include a theme park. “This is a fine opportunity.”
He said the group was sorting out “some issues” as it regards the deal.
Asked whether the government had completed the due diligence as it relates to the Royal Oasis deal, Dr. Baltron Bethel, the managing director of the Hotel Corporation, who is intimately involved in negotiating various heads of agreement, said the process was an ongoing one and will likely take months.
“They have entered into an agreement and they have sought to make certain submissions to the government,” he said when asked about WIH and its plans for the Freeport resort.
He explained that the group will have to make application to the Foreign Investments Board, and another application to the Hotel Corporation for a certificate of consent to apply to the Gaming Board for a casino license.
“Weﾒll continue with our due diligence on the matter until we are satisfied that they not only have the resources to purchase the property, but to get it opened,” Dr. Bethel said.
He said World Investments Holdings does not have to satisfy the government that it has the resources until it is ready to close the deal. That is expected to happen within the next month.
“They anticipate they will have the property open next April or May,” Dr. Bethel said.
With numerous assurances from government officials over the last 18 months or so that they were confident that the sale of the Royal Oasis was imminent, some Grand Bahamians are taking a wait and see attitude as it relates to the latest revelation that Lehman had signed a sale agreement with World Investments Holdings, a group that didnﾒt even exist before July.
Second Vice President of the Bahamas Hotel Catering and Allied Workers Union Lionel Morley said the union was hopeful that the deal would be closed.
“Weﾒre very excited,” Mr. Morley said, “[When] we see some movement ﾖ the refurbishment and everything is brought into fruition ﾖ then we believe we would be well on our way to watching the economy of Freeport rebound to some extent.”
Government officials have repeatedly criticized the Ingraham administration for failing, in their words, to carry out proper due diligence when the Driftwood group was purchasing the Royal Oasis Resort.
Minister Wilchcombe has said thatﾒs the reason why the present administration finds itself in the situation it is in today as it regards the property, which was closed after it took a beating in Hurricane Frances in 2004.
But Prime Minister Perry Christie has assured that the government will ensure that it will approve the sale only to a group that it credible and has the means to get the property opened and operating.
He told reporters as much recently.
“We are now going forward on the critical due diligence period in which the parties will move towards a conclusion of the purchase and in the process negotiate and settle with the government all that they are going to do with a view to their becoming an investor in Grand Bahama,” Mr. Christie said.
“This really means how we – the government, the investors and Lehman Brothers – deal with suppliers who were left in debt and those persons who expect to have redundancy payments. All of those issues are now being addressed and hopefully we will have some kind of process that ensues towards a conclusion that would benefit the Bahamians who are now waiting to see what has in fact been agreed to.”
The closure of the Royal Oasis resulted in more than 1,000 Bahamians losing their jobs and contributed to driving unemployment in Grand Bahama up from 9.3 percent in 2004 to 11 percent in 2005.
Government officials have told the Bahama Journal that getting Royal Oasis reopened is a priority.
On an island that has had bad economic luck over the last three years, the closed property stands as a symbol of what some Grand Bahamians continue to say are tough times.
And with a general election nearing, itﾒs no secret that the government wants to ensure that this issue is settled sooner than later.
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
