In court papers April 30, trustee Matt McKinlay says there’s just one taker for the 5,000-acre property: EB5AN, which submitted a $65 million credit bid.
The firm represents 99 unnamed foreign parties who loaned Wohali a total of about $79 million through the federal EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.
EB5 says the developer defaulted and owes the loan balance plus millions more in interest.
Utah’s federal bankruptcy court allowed EB5 to use its debt as cash for an opening bid on Wohali.
Since no one else bid, EB5 could be Wohali’s new owner without spending additional money. It agreed to pay administrative and other expenses in a settlement with the trustee.
But the sale could take longer to close than anticipated, as other parties object to an EB5 takeover.
Wohali’s would-be homebuyers, Coalville City and a group claiming to be the rightful owner of Wohali’s 3,000-acre backcountry are all challenging the sale to EB5 with written objections in court.
Bankruptcy Judge Peggy Hunt has scheduled hearings in May and June to sort through the disputes.
Hunt greenlit the formation of a committee to represent creditors besides EB5 during the rest of the bankruptcy.
Those creditors are called “unsecured” since they can’t foreclose on the golf resort. Unsecured creditors are most at risk of losing the money they invest, and many of them are suing Wohali for reimbursement in state court.
Under EB5’s deal with the trustee, it will need to pay $4 million for the dozens of unsecured creditors to split amongst themselves.
