The golf club is managed but not owned by Trump's organization. Its bankruptcy makes it likely that a public authority of the cash-strapped Caribbean island will have to repay tens of millions of dollars of bonds issued on behalf of the golf club.
Stalking horse bidder OHorizons Global LLC is seeking to buy the bankrupt club, free and clear of liens, for $2 million cash and the assumption of contracts, bankruptcy filings showed.
ADVERTISING
But Trump himself is neither the owner nor developer of the club, Eric Trump, Donald Trump's son and executive vice president of The Trump Organization, said in a statement.
The golf club's developer and owner, construction company Empresas Diaz, licensed the Trump name for the club and has been in default for many months on its obligations to Trump, due to its "financial constraints and a difficult business climate in Puerto Rico," he said.
"The Trump Organization continues to have a great relationship and incredible respect for the developer and its principals," Eric Trump said.
The Puerto Rico golf club's bankruptcy filing listed $9.2 million of assets, including two 18-hole golf courses, a club house, and reserve funds, and $78 million of liabilities.
The Puerto Rico Tourist, Educational, Medical and Environmental Control Facilities Financing Authority issued $26.4 million of tourism revenue bonds in 2011 on behalf of the club, according to securities filings.
The authority had sole responsibility to pay the municipal bonds, using money the golf club was supposed to remit.
But the payments have been hard to come by since the debt was issued, with repeated defaults and unscheduled draws on reserves, regulatory filings show.
It is "probable" that the authority would be on the hook to pay back the bonds, said Charles Cuprill, the debtor's attorney.
In New York on Monday, Puerto Rican officials pleaded with creditors to avoid litigation over the commonwealth's $72 billion debt.
Trump, a 2016 Republican presidential candidate, has come under fire for saying that Mexico was sending criminals to the United States. Latinos who work at a Trump-run golf course in New York City said the remarks were perplexing and painful. (Reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by David Gregorio)
Trump golf course blames weak Puerto Rico economy for bankruptcy
No comments:
Post a Comment