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Third Deal to Sell Shuttered Atlantic City Casino Fails

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Not even the third time was the charm for the former Atlantic Club casino in Atlantic City, N.J., which on Thursday saw the third attempt to sell it fall through in as many years, the Associated Press reported. The latest involved a bid by Stockton University to buy the casino property as part of its new Atlantic City campus. But Stockton wanted the parking garage and the land; the casino and hotel buildings would have been razed. TJM Properties of St. Petersburg, Fla., pronounced the deal dead Thursday. No purchase price was ever revealed. When Stockton agreed to buy the complex in August, it said a purchase price would be made public at the deal’s closing. The Atlantic Club closed on Jan. 13, 2014, the first of four Atlantic City casinos to go bust that year. It was jointly bought by Tropicana Entertainment and Caesars Entertainment, with Caesars maintaining control of the buildings and property. Caesars sold it to TJM for $13.5 million, with a deed restriction stating it could not be used as a casino. TJM on Thursday said it is in talks with Caesars to try to have that restriction removed, presumably making the property more marketable in a recovering casino resort.

Rivertowne Brewing Up for Bankruptcy Sale

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Rivertowne Brewery and Tasting Room, a craft brewery in Export, Pa., with four associated restaurants in Allegheny and Westmoreland (Pa.) counties, is expecting interest from at least six potential buyers when it goes up for sale next month, according to filings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Pittsburgh, TribLive reported. About 240 other potential buyers, many with experience in the food and beverage industry, have been notified of the pending sale, according to filings in Rivertowne’s bankruptcy case. Bidders have until 5 p.m. Oct. 10 to submit offers, which will be reviewed to determine who is qualified to make the purchase, said Daniel Schimizzi, a Pittsburgh attorney with Whiteford Taylor Preston LLP, who is representing Rivertowne in the chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed in May. Bidding for the brewery will start at $1.35 million, which is the amount submitted by Gordon Brothers Commercial & Industrial LLC of Boston. A closed-door auction for qualified bidders will be held Oct. 12, and an open hearing in bankruptcy court is planned for Oct. 16, Schimizzi said. Rivertowne has about 150 employees. Debtors are owed between $1 million and $10 million; they include the Pittsburgh Pirates, which is owed $271,000; the Pittsburgh Penguins, which is owed $125,000; and S&T Bank of Indiana, which was owed $103,380, according to court filings.

Bankrupt Applebee’s Franchisee to Close at Least Six More Restaurants

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A major Applebee’s franchisee, which recently closed 13 locations as part of its bankruptcy reorganization, is planning another round of shutdowns, with at least six more locations expected to go out of business by month’s end, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy. RMH Franchise Holdings Inc., the second-biggest franchisee of Applebee’s restaurants, also says it “will likely need to close certain additional restaurant locations” beyond those six depending on the outcome of lease negotiations. After closing the six restaurants, RMH will own about 140 Applebee’s locations, all in the U.S. RMH revealed the latest closures in a filing yesterday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., seeking permission to make severance payments to workers losing their jobs. RMH and related companies sought protection from creditors in early May through a chapter 11 petition. The Atlanta-based company later that month asked for the court’s permission to make severance payments to workers affected by the first round of closures.

Visas for Dollars: Backers of Failed Vegas Casino May Lose Both

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The Lucky Dragon casino in Las Vegas was pitched to foreign investors as a way to make money and score permanent residence in the U.S., but the now bankrupt project could leave them with neither, Bloomberg News reported. The $165 million resort, which opened in November 2016, was billed as the first Las Vegas casino designed specifically for Asian customers. It was built, in part, with $98.5 million from 179 foreign investors, who backed the project under an immigration program, known as the EB-5 visa, that lets immigrants who create jobs in the U.S. stay here permanently. The casino closed in January, however, and is expected to be sold at a bankruptcy auction on Sept. 10. That means the foreign backers each could lose their $550,000 investment, as well as their shot at a green card, according to a bankruptcy court filing by the investors. Their attorney, Ryan Works, said his clients would like to see a new buyer who lets them retain some of their interest.

New York’s Flatiron Hotel Files for Bankruptcy

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The owner of New York’s Flatiron Hotel filed for bankruptcy yesterday with a plan to sell a 50 percent stake in the boutique hotel to an affiliate of Uzi Ben Abraham’s real-estate investment company Premier Equities, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The 62-room hotel’s owner, a company called 1141 Realty Owner LLC, filed for chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York. The hotel is owned — through a series of interlocking companies — by Jagdish Vaswani. The hotel owner filed for bankruptcy after Wilmington Trust, as the trustee for the lenders, said that it had defaulted on a $22.5 million loan. Wilmington Trust had sued Flatiron last year in federal court, claiming the hotel had defaulted on its loan by selling alcohol without a license and misappropriating funds.

NYC’s Historic Plaza Hotel Sold to Qatari State-Owned Company

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A Qatari state-owned company has taken over New York’s Plaza Hotel, according to the operator of the historic property, Bloomberg News reported. Katara Hospitality, Qatar Investment Authority’s hotel division, completed the purchase on July 2, according to a representative for Accor SA, which was told of the ownership change. Katara acquired 100 percent of the property from its majority owner, Sahara India Pariwar, as well as minority owners Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., Kingdom Holding Co. and Sant Singh Chatwal. The transaction was valued at $600 million. The Plaza, which opened 111 years ago, is known as the fictional home of children’s book character Eloise and has been featured in films such as “Home Alone 2” and “North by Northwest.” Among its prior owners is President Donald Trump, who was forced to sell it more than two decades ago as part of a bankruptcy. 

New York Plaza Hotel Buyers Ashkenazy, Alwaleed Sue Owner

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Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. and Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Co., the investors trying to buy New York’s historic Plaza Hotel, sued the property’s majority owner for allegedly reneging on an agreement that gives the group the right to match another offer, Bloomberg News reported. Sahara US Corp., which owns a 70 percent stake in the hotel, demanded a second deposit and has been negotiating with other parties, according to a complaint filed in New York state court on Friday. Minority investors Ashkenazy and Kingdom earlier this month exercised their right of first refusal on a $600 million bid for the property to instead try to purchase it on their own. The clash between the investors is another twist in a years-long sales process for the 111-year-old building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Central Park South. Sahara US is an entity tied to Sahara India Pariwar, which has been attempting to sell its stake amid troubles faced by its chairman, Subrata Roy, who has been ordered to return billions of dollars to investors.

Judge Approves $310 Million Sale of Weinstein Co. Assets to Lantern Capital

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A judge said yesterday she will approve the sale of the bankrupt television and film studio co-founded by Harvey Weinstein to private-equity firm Lantern Capital Partners for $310 million, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The sale of Weinstein Co. assets, subject to closing conditions, is expected to give the troubled studio a second life under new ownership. The transaction was approved by Judge <b>Mary Walrath</b> in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. The company filed for chapter 11 protection in March, six months after allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment were first published against Mr. Weinstein and after attempts to sell the studio outside of bankruptcy failed. Proceeds from the sale will be used to reimburse Weinstein Co. creditors in a debt repayment plan that will need to be negotiated and later approved by the court. The sale proceeds are likely to produce substantial funds for alleged victims of Weinstein, including women who have pending lawsuits against the studio, according to sources. (Subscription required.)