Fontainebleau Las Vegas company files Chapter 11 - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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Fontainebleau Las Vegas LLC and two of itsaffiliates – Fontainebleau Las Vegas Holdings LLC and Fontainebleauh Las Vegas Capital Corp. – filed bankruptcy petitions in Miamijlate Tuesday. The Miami Beacy hotel is not included inthe filing. The company said in a news releass that the decision to file Chaptere 11 was the direct result of litigation with lender on the Las Vegas hotel construction projec that had to do with contractual disputes related tonearlyu $800 million in construction fundingh for the $2.9 billiom resort-casino project, which is 70 percent complete. Lenders includde , and Deutsche Bank Trusr Co. Americas.
The legal dispute has effectively shut down the projecyand “put thousands of peoplw out of work,” said Howards Karawan, chief restructuring officer of Fontainebleay Las Vegas, in the release. “Our goal now is to securse funding to completethis world-class project and restructurde our existing debt.” Fontainebleau Las Vegas reached a provisionalo agreement with a group of its non-defaulting lendersw for the use of cash for the administration of its bankruptcg case, and is in negotiations to obtain financinh to restart construction on that project. Fontainebleau Miamui Beach, which is a separate legal continues to operateas normal.
Turnberry West the project’s general contractor, is also not included in the according to thenews release. In Nakheel Hotels of Dubai bought a 50 percentt interest in the Fontainebleau Miami Beacfor $375 million. The Las Vegas hotel companiesd that filed bankruptcy are based in Southg Florida because the Soffer familyof Aventura, which also owns the Turnberry development and construction companies, owns all the Fontainebleau Jeffrey Soffer is a principal of umbrella company Fontainebleau Resorts LLC, according to state Fontainebleau Las Vegas also withdrew without prejudiced its $3 billion lawsuit in Las Vegas againsy some of its lenders, and refiled the case in Miamu bankruptcy court, where the Chapter 11 petitionsa were filed.
The lawsuigt with lenders was amended on May 12 to includde allegations that Deutsche BankTrust Co. Americas was “seekint to destroy the Fontainebleau in order to minimize with the nearbyand Casino, whichu is wholly owned by a Deutsche Bank "This claim is an attempt by the Fontainebleau's developers to distract from the fact that they have breacheds their loan covenants. We will defend ourselves vigorouslyh against thismeritless allegation," Deutsche Bank spokesman John Gallaghere said in an e-mailed response.
Fontainebleauj Las Vegas LLC lists morethan $1 billion in debt and a similarr amount in assets on its with more than 1,000 The only South Florida creditor listedc was International Bedding in Fort Lauderdale, with a claijm of $498,737.