Trumps Panama venture sold

Panama’s Trump Ocean & Tower Hotel, which has had a chequered history, and was the first  of the brand in Latin America has been sold for more than $ 23 million, says  a statement from the Panama Stock Exchange (BVP) reported by Business News.

The project’s problems have included the bankruptcy of the original promoter, the firing of the Trump organization as managers and millions of dollars of lawsuits. While many lost their shirts, Trump emerged from the original deal pocketing at least the amount of the current selling price, although far less than he had anticipated.

The notice  that the developer company Newland International Properties Corporation, supported by bondholders, has signed a contract for the purchase and sale of 202 hotel units and 13 amenities of Panama City’s Trump Ocean Club International Hotel & Tower.

The sale is carried out with the exception of two commercial units that will Newland keep in property, as promoter and developer of the P.H.TOC project. .

The transaction price, as indicated in the release, is $23,730,000, paid by the buyer through a Letter of Promise of Payment issued by Canal Bank and with an “irreversible” payment during the month of July 2017.

The hotel – inaugurated in 2011 – was the first investment of the Trump organization in Latin America. It is a mixed-use building with 284 meters and 70 floors that is located in the sector of Punta Pacifica of Panama, and that includes more than 350 rooms, three restaurants and two swimming pools, but in spite of the hype, including an opening attended by Trump and then president Ricardo Martinelli, seems never to have really captured the attention of residents and visitors