That's Bill Jones III, scion of the family that has owned and operated the Sea Island Resort for four generations, confirming that the property has been sold. The Wall Street Journal has the story here.
The buyers were Oaktree Captial Management LP of Los Angeles, and Avenue Capital Group of New York, two entities that have been busy during the last year acquiring distressed properties. Reports put the selling price at $197.5 million, and said Sea Island's creditors, including Bank of America and Royal Lloyds Banking Group, are "walking away from" $340 million in debt.
So what's the future for Jones and the Sea Island community? Business as usual, if this passage from the WSJ story is accurate:
"As part of the deal, about 2,500 Sea Island members as well as some 360 members of private Ocean Forest Golf Club will be transitioned to a new membership structure that is similar to the current one. Oaktree and Avenue plan to retain Sea Island's employees and management, including Mr. Jones."
We'll see.
-- G.R.
