Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
In March 2016, a two-bank syndicate — the Bank of China (BOC) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. — entered into a $795 million USD syndicated loan agreement with Turnberry Associates, LLC — a Florida-incorporated American privately-held real estate development and management company controlled by the Soffer family based in Aventura, Florida — for the Fontainebleau Miami Beach 2016 Refinancing Project. Each lender contributed $397.5 million USD to the syndicate. This loan was secured by (i.e. collateralized against) a mortgage on the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel and resort. The proceeds were to be used by the borrower to refinance an $535 million USD loan from JPMorgan Chase and provide an additional $260 million USD in funding for the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, an oceanfront luxury 1,504-room hotel and 1,179,177 square foot resort on Millionaire’s Row at 4441 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, Miami-Dade County, Florida. Fontainebleau is the largest hotel in South Florida. The hotel is a famous structure, being featured in numerous films, television shows, and songs. In November 2019, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan entered into a $1.175 billion USD syndicated loan agreement with Fontainebleau Development, LLC — a new entity formed from the splitting of Turnberry by the Soffer siblings, Jeffrey (who formed the new company) and Jackie (who remained with Turnberry) — to refinance the debt of Fontainebleau Miami Beach, presumably including the $795 million USD loan.
Staff comments
1. It is plausible, if not likely, that the specific intended borrowing institution was a special purpose vehicle wholly-owned subsidiary of Turnberry Associates. This issue merits further investigation.