The sale of the Fontainebleau Las Vegas to Carl Icahn was approved during a bankruptcy hearing in Miami today. Bankruptcy Judge A. Jay Cristol approved the sale at about 8 a.m. Icahn emerged as the only qualified bidder last week.
Carl Icahn is expected to take over ownership of the bankrupt Fontainebleau Las Vegas resort after two potential competitors vying to buy the property failed to submit qualifying bids as of a 5 p.m. deadline Friday.
In years past, casino bankruptcy auctions generated a frenzy of activity, with multiple bidders emerging at the last minute with the promise of cash at the other end of a cell phone. Those with little money or credibility would quickly drop out, leaving a few usual suspects vying for a shot at a bargain buy. There may be no such party for the bankrupt, unfinished Fontainebleau Las Vegas resort that is sought by billionaire investor Carl Icahn.
Penn National Gaming, which spent months investigating the purchase of the unfinished Fontainebleau Las Vegas resort on the Strip, will not bid on the property at an upcoming bankruptcy auction, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania-based casino company said today.
CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court has upheld the decision of the Clark County Commission to allow the Fontainebleau’s garage-convention structure to increase in height from 175 feet to 230 feet.
With a Fontainebleau Las Vegas secretary earning $48,000 annually, its chief restructuring officer making $720,000 and unemployment running at 13 percent, the bankrupt company encountered skepticism Thursday when it proposed spending some $1 million on management bonuses.
The Fontainebleau Las Vegas bankruptcy judge on Tuesday gave contractors 10 days to come up with more than $200 million in cash and a bond if they want to continue pressing for the right to buy the casino resort project with a credit bid.
Lenders owed $1.048 billion in the Fontainebleau Las Vegas bankruptcy case sued hundreds of construction companies Wednesday as disputes escalated over liens filed against the project by lenders and contractors.
The retail portion of the idled Fontainebleau Las Vegas casino resort filed for bankruptcy protection Wednesday -- introducing a new set of creditors and controversies to the massive case.
Investor Carl Icahn will be the stalking horse bidder for the mothballed Fontainebleau Las Vegas casino resort, offering $156 million in cash and financing Monday and outbidding Penn National Gaming. During a hearing in Miami's bankruptcy court, Penn National Gaming initially competed with Icahn but then dropped out of the bidding after going as high as $145 million.
Contractors that claim to be owed $424 million today objected to the Fontainebleau Las Vegas sales process in which Penn National Gaming could pick up the unfinished project for less than $102 million.
Penn National Gaming Inc. on Monday made a $50 million "stalking horse" bid to buy the stalled Fontainebleau casino-resort in Las Vegas, with plans to spend another $1.46 billion to complete the project. Penn's offer, filed in Miami's bankruptcy court, sets in place an auction process in which other investors will have an opportunity to bid for the property. Fontainebleau also said in a court motion Monday that Penn National and unnamed lenders have agreed to provide $51.5 million in debtor-in-possession financing to cover its costs.
