Transactions, june 21, 2013

     In what’s certain to be one of 2013’s blockbuster transactions, Omni Hotels & Resorts has agreed to buy five top-notch golf resorts from affiliates of KSL Capital Partners. The group consists of the Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia; Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas; the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina; and two equally well-known spreads in California, La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad and Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage. The resorts offer 10 golf courses designed by Donald Ross, William S. Flynn, Tom Fazio, Ben Crenshaw, Arnold Palmer, Dick Wilson, and Ted Robinson. Assuming the sale is completed, Omni will rank among the premier owner/operators of U.S. golf properties. Its portfolio currently includes five golf resorts, among them Amelia Island Plantation in Florida; Bedford Springs Resort in Pennsylvania; and Omni Interlocken Resort in Colorado. The company is controlled by Robert Rowling, one of the nation’s richest people (Forbes says he’s worth $4.9 billion) and a major contributor to American Crossroads, Karl Rove’s political action committee.

     After nearly two years in receivership, one of Canada’s premier golf properties has found new owners who hope to turn it into a world-class destination. John Preston and Henry Bereznicki -- the former is from Palm Beach, Florida, the latter from Edmonton, Alberta -- have purchased Tobiano Golf Course, which was named as Canada’s best new course when it opened in 2008 and is routinely ranked by ScoreGolf as one of the nation’s top 10. The Tom McBroom-designed track is just outside Kamloops, in the heart of British Columbia’s vacation country, and close enough to Vancouver to lure dedicated golf travelers. “We’re committed to fielding a must-play course,” the course’s general manager, Mike Grenier, told Kamloops This Week, “and that means we have to be among the best in North America.” Preston and Bereznicki haven’t said what they paid for Tobiano, but the bank that controlled it was asking for $5.5 million.

     Concert Golf Partners has added a third property to its golf holdings in Florida: Emerald Greens Golf Resort & Country Club, a facility in suburban Tampa that was born as Carrollwood Village Country Club. Tampa-based Convergent Capital Partners accepted $6 million for the club and its 27-hole, Dan Maples-designed golf complex, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal. Concert Golf was founded by Peter Nanula, a Tampa-area native, in 2010. Since then, it’s purchased Heathrow Country Club in suburban Orlando and The Golf Club of Amelia Island on Amelia Island. Late last year, it bought The Country Club at Woodmore in Mitchellville, Maryland. In a letter to Emerald Greens’ members, Nanula promised to deliver “more events, better service, top-notch course conditions, and the very best private club experience that Tampa has to offer.” Upgrades are planned, beginning with a regrassing of the complex’s greens this summer.

     Ever on the prowl for under-performing vacation properties, Northlight Financial LLC has acquired a controlling interest in the Seven Canyons resort community in Sedona, Arizona. The community features a Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course that had been highly regarded until its previous owners stopped watering it. “It’s a beautiful golf course in one of the most spectacular settings in North America,” a Northlight official said in a press release. “The potential is enormous.” Northlight, which was founded by former executives from GE Capital, acquired Seven Canyons in a bankruptcy court proceeding. The company also claims to have a financial stake in two other golf properties, Quintero Golf & Country Club in suburban Phoenix, Arizona and Snake River Sporting Club outside Jackson, Wyoming. The course at Seven Canyon is now open to the public, but it was originally the centerpiece of a private club where initiation fees ranged as high as $175,000.

     As part of a last-ditch rescue effort, a homeowners’ group in Granby, Colorado has agreed to acquire Grand Elk Golf Course. The course, a Craig Stadler “signature” layout (the only one in existence, as best I can tell), has been bleeding profusely in recent years, according to the Ski-Hi News. It anchors a 520-acre resort community that’s seen as many as 400 of its 680 lots go through foreclosure. The Grand Elk Homeowners Association bought the course from an LLC that’s reportedly lost something like $13 million on its investment. “We’re thrilled that the HOA is going to take over the golf course and make it a huge success,” the head of the LLC told the newspaper. The sale price wasn’t announced, but the LLC had been asking for $1.05 million plus the payment of $420,000 in back taxes.

     A flailing economy and a looming banking crisis couldn’t dissuade some Hong Kong-based investors from shelling out €290 million (nearly $388 million) for an emerging resort in Paphos, Cyprus. China Glory National Investment, a group led by Charles Zhang, now controls the future of Venus Rock Golf Resort, which has been master-planned to include up to 3,000 upscale vacation houses, a Nikki Beach hotel, a marina, a retail/commercial area, a beach club, a spa, and other attractions. The 2,375-acre property is currently home to Secret Valley, an aging resort with an 18-hole golf course. Tony Jacklin has redesigned Secret Valley’s 6,310-yard track (it’s scheduled to reopen in September), and he’s been contracted to add a new 18-hole track. Venus Rock’s seller is Dolphin Capital Investors, which appears to be warming up for future transactions with China Glory. “We look forward to establishing a strategic partnership with the purchaser of the Venus Rock project,” one of Dolphin’s principals said in a press release, “and expanding the relationship to other Dolphin assets.” Those assets include more than a dozen similar resort properties in Greece, Croatia, Turkey, the Dominican Republic, and Panama.

     Indigo Lakes Golf Club, formerly one of Florida’s top golf properties, has been purchased out of foreclosure for a mere $1.25 million. “Someone got an 18-hole championship golf club for the price of a riverfront home,” a local real estate professional told the Daytona Beach News-Journal. The someone is Colin Jon, who reportedly works for a Canadian company that manufactures bowling shoes. Jon plans to spend at least $1 million more on improvements to the Lloyd Clifton-designed layout and to, in the words of the facility’s new director of golf, “bring the club back to what it once was.” Indigo Lakes opened during the American bicentennial and hosted the LPGA Championship in 1994.

     A pair of golf properties in the suburbs of Pattaya, Thailand have found new owners. Phoenix Golf & Country Club now belongs to Hemaraj Land & Development PLC, while Rayong Century Country Club has been sold to TCC Capital Land. The clubs opened within three years of each other in the mid 1990s. Phoenix, which has 27 holes, was designed by Denis Griffiths. Rayong Century, which is sometimes referred to as Emerald Golf Club, features a Nick Faldo “signature” layout co-designed by Desmond Muirhead. A renovation may be in the cards, for Travel Daily News describes Rayong Century as “run down.”

     It took nearly 20 years, but ClubCorp has finally acquired Oak Tree Country Club in Edmund, Oklahoma. Oak Tree, which features a pair of Pete Dye-designed golf courses, was among the crème de la crème of the high-prestige golf properties developed by Jerry Barton’s legendary Landmark Land Company. ClubCorp began eyeing Oak Tree in the wake of the savings-and-loan scandal of the 1980s, when Landmark lost it to the federal government’s Resolution Trust Corporation. In fact, ClubCorp had a right of first refusal on the club when the RTC put it up for sale in 1994, but a Canadian group wanted it more. So this year, when another purchase opportunity presented itself, ClubCorp stepped up. “We are very excited about the addition of Oak Tree Country Club, nationally recognized as one of the preeminent clubs in Oklahoma, which gives us a presence in the state and increases our brand awareness nationwide,” a ClubCorp exec said in a press release. The seller was a local group that had owned Oak Tree since the mid 2000s.

     Ridgemont Country Club, in Greece, New York, has been purchased by one of its long-time members. Jim Cucinelli’s goal is to ensure the future of the club, which opened in 1928 and has of late endured lean times due to a declining membership. “This is truly a labor of love,” the club’s general manager told the Greece Post. “Our new owner cares about the future of Ridgemont and only wants to see it thrive with a strong membership base.” To attract new members, Cucinelli has eliminated initiation fees, special assessments, and food and beverage minimums. He also hopes to attract an increased number of meetings and weddings, a part of the business Ridgemont couldn’t fully tap due to its non-profit status.

     A Jacksonville, Florida-area golf pro has purchased his first golf property. Charles Raulerson, who runs a golf academy at Country Club of Orange Park, has acquired Golf Club of Fleming Island. The 13-year-old club features a 6,688-yard, Bobby Weed-designed course. Raulerson, who played briefly on the PGA and European tours, also plans to open an academy at Fleming Island. Next on his agenda: He plans to buy Orange Park, which is owned in part by his father.