02 September 2011
Sale to settle $2.6 billion debt

Sol Kerzner - the South African hotel magnate behind Dubai's high-profile Atlantis resort - famously staged a $20 million opening party for the Palm Jumeirah hotel in 2008 just as the rest of world was tightening its belt. 

Now Kerzner faces cost-cutting of his own, and is said to be mulling the sale of his 50 per cent stake in the Atlantis to Dubai's Istithmar World, the Wall Street Journal has reported.   

The paper cited sources close to talks taking place between Kerzner's Bahamas-based firm and the Dubai company.  

Any sale could net as much as $350 million, it reported, and would go towards paying down mortgage debt on a separate Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. Kerzner International has been in talks with creditors to restructure $2.6 billion in debt, which is due next month.  

Selling his stake in the Dubai's Atlantis would be a tough move for Kerzner who previously expressed great admiration for Dubai's rapid economic growth saying: "Dubai is a sensational place and we feel hugely confident it will be a huge success."

© 7Days 2011