SEARCH NEWS:

 

Aladdin Bidders' Deadline Nears

With the planned sale of the bankrupt Aladdin close, bidding for the megaresort is shaping up as a two-horse race, sources said.

A group that plans to rename the property Planet Hollywood and refurbish and retheme it with movie memorabilia was named last month as Aladdin's preferred bidder by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Clive Jones.

A second bidder fronted by Los Angeles-based Financial Capital Investment Co. also submitted a bid although it has yet to be officially qualified.

The two are likely to be the only bidders qualified by Aladdin executives by Tuesday's deadline, sources said. A sale is expected to be approved Friday.

"A lot has been going on during the past two weeks," with a number of other potential bidders "sniffing around," one source said, citing a major national operator, a Canadian group, a Midwest riverboat operator and a wealthy Filipino-American as examples. "But it'll come down to the two lead bidders."

The 2,567-room Aladdin opened in August 2000 but declared bankruptcy 13 months later, the victim of a flawed business plan, limited operating capital and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Aladdin lawyer Gerald Gordon recently said the Aladdin sales process was designed to maximize the price the creditors would receive for the property, and said it was clear the process was working.

The Financial Capital group would name the property Asia. The hotel would be managed by Marriott International and the casino managed by an unnamed operator.

Financial Capital point man Richard Alter didn't return a Friday phone message.

The Planet Hollywood bid includes $90 million in cash contributed by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Bay Harbour Management and Planet Hollywood Chairman Robert Earl as well as the assumption of $510 million in Aladdin secured debt. An additional $35 million would come from the Aladdin's power supplier, Northwind Aladdin.

"Our expectation has always been that there'll be other bidders," Earl said Thursday evening. "We remain convinced that if the bankers take a bid that requires a large assumption of debt, they'd find our concept gives them a maximum chance at a full recovery."

Sources discounted chances for a third bid announced last week by KenPat Entertainment Group, a group of California and South Korean investors.

A Wall Street casino analyst said he expects the bidding to come down to the two lead bids.

"You have Marriott and the Asian theme on one hand, and Starwood and a movie theme on the other," the source said. "Both bids rely on the assumption of Aladdin's bank debt, so the question is whether the bankers will buy in to the (Asian) theme and the background of the (Financial Capital) bid," the source said.

< Gaming News