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Developer of Bahamas Resort Accuses Chinese of Sabotage, Fraud

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The developer of the unfinished $3.5 billion Baha Mar mega resort in the Bahamas has accused China Construction America of cutting power to the work site, inflating expenses and trying to steal documents stuffed in suitcases, U.S. court filings show, Reuters reported yesterday. China Construction America, a unit of China State Construction Engineering Corp Ltd, denied the allegations, saying on Friday that the developer is trying to deflect attention from its own mismanagement of the troubled project. Baha Mar Ltd, the project's developer, detailed its allegations in court filings on Thursday as part of its bankruptcy case. The developer's filings also raised the prospect of fraud by the Chinese, saying that money may have been spent on groceries and cosmetics. Baha Mar has been plagued by delays and ran out of money, forcing the developer to file for bankruptcy protection in a Delaware court on June 29. The project, which is to feature a Las Vegas-style casino and more than 2,000 hotel rooms, is being built by CCA and has been largely financed with a $2.45 billion loan from the Export Import Bank of China.

Paulson Said Close to Deal for Caesars Unit’s Restructuring

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Paulson & Co. is among the creditors closing in on a deal intended to salvage a bankruptcy plan that Caesars Entertainment Corp. is pushing to restructure its insolvent operating unit, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The hedge-fund firm controlled by billionaire John Paulson along with other junior debt holders of Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. including Canyon Partners and Soros Fund Management are discussing the plan with the casino company. The deal would extract better terms for the creditors than a previous version that has failed to gather enough support. Caesars has tried for months to line up enough senior creditors to win approval of a proposal to cut lower-ranking debt, allow the parent to retain a stake in the operating unit and halt related lawsuits against its private-equity owners, Apollo Global Management and TPG Capital Management. The company, the largest owner of casinos in the U.S., pushed its biggest subsidiary into bankruptcy in January to restructure $19.9 billion of borrowings.

Chinese Firm Blames Bankruptcy of Bahamas Resort on Developer

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The Chinese construction company building the unfinished $3.5 billion Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas accused the developer of mismanaging the project's design and not securing adequate financing, Reuters reported yesterday. China Construction America (CCA) has been blamed for the delays that caused the Baha Mar project to file for bankruptcy protection late last month in a Delaware court. But CCA said that the developer of the project replaced the mega resort's principal architect after construction began and had more than 1,300 change orders for construction contractors. Developer Baha Mar Ltd is run by Sarkis Izmirlian, the son of an Armenian billionaire. Construction delays, funding squabbles, lagging inspections and faulty work at the Nassau resort have led to finger pointing among Izmirlian, CCA and China's export finance bank, which bankrolled most of the project with a $2.45 billion loan.

Bankrupt Baha Mar in Bahamas Secures Interim Financing

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The bankrupt $3.5 billion Baha Mar mega resort in the Bahamas secured up to $30 million in interim financing yesterday, but it was unclear when construction on the stalled project would resume, Reuters reported yesterday. The resort, bankrolled and built by the Chinese and described on its website as "the world's glamorous, new playground,” is eight to 12 weeks from completion once construction resumes, a lawyer for the resort told a bankruptcy judge. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Carey approved up to $30 million in interim financing for Baha Mar, one of the biggest commercial construction projects in the Western Hemisphere. Baha Mar's developer, Sarkis Izmirlian, the son of Armenian billionaire Dikran Izmirlian, has agreed to arrange the funding.

Caesars Wants Bankruptcy Investigator to Probe 2008 Buyout

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Caesars Entertainment Corp.’s main operating unit asked a bankruptcy judge to let a court-appointed investigator scrutinize the 2008 buyout that left the casino giant saddled with billions of dollars in unmanageable debt, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The former prosecutor looking into the bankruptcy of Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. should broaden his probe to include the $30 billion leveraged buyout, the unit said in a filing on Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago. Richard J. Davis was appointed to investigate Caesars’ pre-bankruptcy restructuring actions with the goal of determining which, if any, can be successfully challenged by a lawsuit. Because some creditors have also questioned the 2008 buyout, Davis should also look into that transaction, Caesars said. Any conclusions the examiner reaches on the deal’s legitimacy “will be particularly helpful in assisting the parties in plan negotiations,” the company said. Caesars’ main operating unit filed for bankruptcy in January with a plan to eliminate debt and reorganize itself. The proposal has split creditors holding billions of dollars in claims. Some have sued, saying that the Las Vegas-based company’s pre-bankruptcy actions were illegal and designed to shield the most valuable assets from creditors.

Patriot Coal Won’t Disclose Insider Pay Leading Up to Second Bankruptcy

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Patriot Coal Corp. won’t disclose what it paid top officers and directors as it slid back into bankruptcy 18 months after emerging from a chapter 11 case that it said would get it back on its feet, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Papers the company filed on Friday in bankruptcy court have details about the West Virginia coal miner’s environmental troubles, the lawsuits it faces and other basics of its business. But as for what it paid officers and directors, Patriot said only that they received “standard and customary compensation.” In the chapter 11 case it launched in 2012, Patriot reported that it paid $27.5 million to top company leaders, including nearly $6 million in bonuses. This time around, Patriot is only providing details on transfers of cash among affiliates and payments to vendors affiliated with company officers and directors by family relationships, court papers say.

Bankrupt Caesars Division Had $53 Million Profit in April

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Caesars Entertainment Corp. said in a securities filing that its bankrupt operating division had a net income of $53 million in April, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported today. The division, Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. (CEOC), said that its total revenue during the month was $327.8 million, including $239.1 million in casino revenue. Caesars filed the results on Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. CEOC controls Caesars Palace, Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah’s Reno and more than a dozen regional properties. “[Caesars] cautions investors and potential investors not to place undue reliance upon the information contained in the monthly operating report,” the company said in the SEC filing. “[It] was not prepared for the purpose of providing the basis for an investment decision relating to any of Caesars securities, and relates solely to CEOC and certain of its U.S. subsidiaries.” Caesars Entertainment has a gaming industry high $22.8 billion in long-term debt, of which $18.4 billion is attached to CEOC. Through bankruptcy, the company hopes to eliminate almost $10 billion of the division’s debt and convert CEOC into a real estate investment trust.

Baha Mar Resort Files Bankruptcy Blaming Contractor Delays

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The owners of Baha Mar, a Caribbean resort project valued at more than $3.5 billion, filed for bankruptcy court protection in Delaware, blaming delays by the general contractor, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The four-hotel resort and golf complex, featuring the largest casino in the Caribbean and its own private island, was presented as the most significant tourism project in the history of the Bahamas. But disputes between the Swiss-Bahamian Izmirlian family, which runs Baha Mar, and a Chinese builder caused the project to miss its scheduled opening in March. Construction on Baha Mar, which was to open on March 27, remains unfinished and no new date has been set. The project is 97 percent complete, according to court papers. Baha Mar Ltd. listed unaudited assets of $3.1 billion and debt of about $2.7 billion in chapter 11 documents in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., where affiliate Northshore Mainland Services Inc. is incorporated. 

Judge to Approve Revel Liquidation Plan, Settlements

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A federal judge said yesterday that he will approve Revel AC Inc.’s liquidation plan after the former owner of the twice-bankrupt Atlantic City, N.J., casino reached several long-elusive settlements with its creditors, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan said that the liquidation plan, which will bring Revel’s hard-fought chapter 11 case to a close, will start the process of rejuvenating Atlantic City. The plan divvies up proceeds from the sale of the 47-story boardwalk tower. Revel, which cost $2.4 billion to build, was sold to developer Glenn Straub for $82 million, leaving little behind to repay creditors.

Deed Would Keep Trump Plaza Shut for at Least 10 Years

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The owners of Atlantic City's former Trump Plaza casino plan to keep it shut for at least 10 years as a tax-saving measure, The Associated Press reported yesterday. Trump Entertainment Resorts has filed a deed restriction for the casino, which closed last September, preventing it from being used again as a casino for at least a decade. It could still be used for another purpose. The move was done to avoid potentially higher taxes under a bill that Gov. Chris Christie could sign soon allowing casinos to make payments in lieu of taxes for 15 years as part of an Atlantic City rescue plan. The bill applies to any property that was licensed to operate as a casino in 2014 and that does not have a deed restriction. Trump Plaza operated for about nine months during 2014, and the company feared it might be included in the alternative tax program. Trump Entertainment wants a bankruptcy judge to approve the restriction on July 9.