Kerzner’s $2.48 Billion of Debt Sent to Special Servicer, Fitch Reports

Almost $2.48 billion in debt backed by Kerzner International Holdings Ltd. (KZL)’s Atlantis resorts in the Bahamas was sent to a special servicer, Fitch Ratings said.

The debt was sent to Wells Fargo & Co. because of maturity default, the credit-rating firm wrote in an e-mail yesterday. The Atlantis resort and casino on Paradise Island and the Marina at Atlantis are in the Kerzner portfolio, Fitch said.

Brookfield Asset Management (BAM/A) this month canceled its deal to exchange debt for Kerzner properties. Kerzner in November agreed to hand ownership of its flagship Atlantis resort to the Toronto-based real estate investor as part of a debt restructuring. Brookfield at the time planned to forgive $175 million of junior debt for ownership of the Atlantis and the Bahamas One&Only Ocean Club, as well as a half interest in the One&Only Palmilla in Mexico.

The properties Brookfield planned to take over had about $2.6 billion in debt when negotiations began. That would have shrunk to about $2.3 billion with Brookfield’s forgiveness and an earlier $100 million payment that was part of a maturity extension.

Jennifer Ferguson, a Kerzner spokeswoman, didn’t immediately return a telephone message and e-mail seeking comment today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nadja Brandt in Los Angeles at nbrandt@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Taub at dtaub@bloomberg.net

• LinkedIn
• Google +1
• Print
• QUEUE