The proposed $1.2 billion Cable Beach redevelopment remained deadlocked last night, with entrepreneur Philip Ruffin not showing any signs of returning to the negotiating table soon.
Mr. Ruffin, owner of the Wyndham Nassau Resort and Crystal Casino Palace, plus the Nassau Beach Hotel, holds in his hands the fate of the Baha Mar investment consortium’s plans. Sources last night said it appeared likely he would “play hardball” and seek to extract more money and concessions from Baha Mar and the government before even contemplating further talks.
Mr. Ruffin has previously blamed Baha Mar’s failure to meet the February 17 deadline for executing on the 120-day option agreement it had to purchase his hotels on the investment consortium having problems arranging its financing.
However, given that the lead investor was Lyford Cay billionaire Dikran Izmirlian, and that the purchases of Mr. Ruffin’s hotels and the government-owned Radisson Cable Beach Resort were unlikely to have cost more than $250 million, raising the necessary capital is unlikely to have been a major problem for the billionaire group.
It is understood from sources close to the negotiations that Baha Mar refused to “lock” itself into acquiring either of Mr. Ruffin’s properties or the Radisson until it had tied down both parties. Going ahead with either Mr. Ruffin or the government would, in Baha Mar’s view, have handed the “third party” a huge amount of negotiating power and made the terms of any deal much more difficult.
Source: Neil Hartnell, The Tribune
