Billionaire businessman and former Miami Dolphins majority owner Wayne Huizenga has purchased Frederica Club, an exclusive golf club developed by the Sea Island Co.
Wells Fargo & Co., which foreclosed on the 2,500-acre golf resort in November, announced the deal with Huizenga on Thursday. Huizenga was said earlier this year to be among the bidders for the entire assets of the Sea Island Co. before the developer of the iconic Georgia coastal resort went into bankruptcy.
The price Huizenga paid for Frederica was not disclosed.
“We are excited about the opportunities that Frederica presents,” Huizenga said in a news release. “We have tremendous respect for the high-quality planning and development work that has already taken place and for the special group of property owners and members who already call Frederica their home. We intend to build on this strong foundation using the experience and expertise we have acquired owning and managing golf and resort properties around the country.”
Huizenga formerly owned the Boca Raton Resort and Club, the Arizona Biltmore, and the Floridian Golf Club and Marina. His portfolio of resorts now includes Diamond Creek Golf Club in Banner Elk, N.C.
Members of the Frederica Club on St. Simons Island have some of the grander amenities in the Sea Island Co. stable, including an equestrian center, a freshwater lake of more than 300 acres and one of the top golf courses in the world.
The deal comes just a few days before Sea Island’s remaining assets -- including the Cloister and Lodge hotels -- are to be auctioned as part of its bankruptcy proceedings.
Sea Island Co. filed for Chapter 11 protection Aug. 10, culminating a disastrously ill-timed bid to go further upscale just as the real estate bubble burst and recession set in. At the same time, the company announced Oaktree and Avenue had won a lengthy closed-door bidding process to acquire the storied resort for $197.5 million.
The bid by Oaktree and Avenue, known as a “stalking horse bid,” will likely face competition at Monday's auction in Atlanta, including a known interest from a pairing of Starwood Capital Group and Anschutz Entertainment.
Starwood, led by Barry Sternlicht, partnered with Los Angeles-based Anschutz, an owner of sports franchises and arenas, on a competing bid that came in just $1.5 million shy of Oaktree-Avenue's in August. Last month, Starwood and Anschutz upped their bid to $199 million, but a bankruptcy judge said that bid would have to come during Monday’s planned auction.
Starwood is a Connecticut-based buyer of distressed assets whose holdings now include condo projects funded by the failed Corus Bank, which included the tony Atlanta condo towers the Atlantic and the Brookwood.
Wells Fargo, which acquired Wachovia during the financial crisis, foreclosed on Frederica and the undeveloped Cannon Point. Golf Digest reported this week that Herb Kohler, head of the Kohler faucet empire, is a probable buyer for Cannon Point.
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