New Trend: Golf Courses Sold
to A Country
Kathy Bissell
In a new investment twist, the
Government of Singapore has purchased the high profile, luxury golf courses at
PGA West and the La Quinta Resort & Club, a total of six courses at PGA
West and three at La Quinta Resort, as well as a 600 room hotel and convention
center with historic ties to the film industry.
The price is reported to be $1.5 billion, and the seller is led by
Paulson & Co, a New York
The licensing agreement for
the name PGA was renegotiated and extended to continue through 2061.
The licensing agreement, which includes only the golf courses and
clubhouses, gives the resorts the exclusive right to use the PGA name within a
250-mile radius in return for an annual royalty payment, officials said.
The Singapore
News sources indicate that the Singapore
sovereign wealth fund is also purchasing the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix , AZ , the Grand
Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa in Hawaii , and
the Claremont Hotel Club & Spa in Berkeley Miami
In January 2011, the Paulson hedge fund and Winthrop Realty Trust took over
PGA West and La Quinta Resort and several other properties through a
foreclosure proceeding, but later filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection. The Singapore Investment
Corp.’s real estate investment arm was the sole bidder in an auction for the
properties.
The properties include golf courses designed by Arnold Palmer, Jack
Nicklaus, Pete Dye, Greg Norman and Tom Weiskopf.
For several decades, dating to the 1920s and 1930s, Hollywood
legends have stayed at LaQuinta Resort, which originally included 12
casitas. Frank Capra, director and
co-writer for It’s a Wonderful Life,
wrote the movie at La Quinta Resort. Recording
and movie and television stars still frequent the facility.
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