R. Black Global LLC, a New York real estate company, has emerged as a rival bidder on the Charleston, S.C., property, offering $11.8 million against the $11.3 million bid submitted by a group that includes Houston Texans owner Robert McNair. A court auction is scheduled for today to determine the buyer.
A rival bidder has emerged for The Golf Club at Briar’s Creek in Charleston, S.C., which is seeking to climb out of bankruptcy, the Charleston-based Post and Courier reported.
R. Black Global LLC, a New York real estate company with ties to a Charleston marina and condominium development, is offering $11.8 million to buy the property. A group that includes billionaire Houston Texans owner Robert McNair and two other founding members of Briar’s Creek submitted the original “stalking horse” offer of $11.3 million earlier this year. The auction rules require that any competing bids must increase the price by at least $500,000, the Post and Courier reported.
C&RB reported on the McNair group’s plan to purchase the property earlier this month (“Members to Vote on Sale of The GC at Briar’s Creek“).
A court auction is scheduled for April 29 to determine the buyer, the Post and Courier reported.
R. Black Global is headed by Ryan Black, who formerly worked for Ripley Light Yacht Club investor Kriti Management. R. Black Global’s interest in acquiring Briar’s Creek was disclosed at a hearing earlier this month. Ryan Cowell, an executive with the firm, said he and Black have been “fully engaged for the last six weeks” to develop a “more robust” plan for the future of the club and the property, the Post and Courier reported.
“We’ve both lived here in town. We both love Charleston and have been bullish on the market here in general,” Cowell said. “I think we’re consistently surprised at how much Charleston keeps growing.”
The law firm representing the McNair buyout group declined to discuss the new offer. Attorneys for the club said in a filing Monday that they had not determined whether R. Black Global’s bid qualified as a valid offer. The bid did not include the mandatory $500,000 deposit or “satisfactory evidence” of the prospective buyer’s ability to finance the all-cash deal, according to the document. “The bidder has so far declined to identify the source of its funding,” the filing added.
Cowell said he would not publicly discuss the bid details before Wednesday’s court auction, the Post and Courier reported.
McNair, who owns a home on nearby Kiawah Island, is leading a group under the name Briar’s Creek Holdings LLC that would invest another $2 million to capitalize a new debt-free private club. McNair hasn’t proposed any drastic changes, club officials have said. The plan is to retain the existing 50-worker staff and management. Active members and qualified former members would be offered memberships in the new club, the Post and Courier reported.
Among other terms, the purchase agreement calls for McNair and his investors to pay $7.4 million in cash for the Rees Jones-designed course, clubhouse, equipment, undeveloped home lots and other assets. The membership has been voting to approve or reject the financial terms of the sale. All were in favor as of Tuesday, spokesman Mike Martin said. A judge will determine the winning bidder, the Post and Courier reported.
The bankruptcy filing will enable the club to renegotiate or reduce its $31 million in unsecured debt. About $26 million of that is made up of refundable initiation fees and loans from club founders and several dozen members. Those liabilities are now worth a fraction of their face value, the Post and Courier reported.
Under the sale terms, active members and former members likely will get back a tiny portion of their mostly seven-figure initiation fees. The exact amount has not been determined, the Post and Courier reported.
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