Malibu Golf Club’s rough financials may be getting trimmed back into the green after its sale to Chinese-based development company Shinhan Golden Faith International for $30.5 million.
The real estate press reported the details of the sale on Aug. 31, but very little information has been made available about the sale or the new owners. Analysts speculate the purchase may be land banking — meaning public or private access to the sprawling course, closed since 2015, may not be granted for some time.
“It’s still real estate, so you can park your money in that and know it will still be safe,” Michael Soto, an analyst for real estate firm Transwestern told the LA Times last week. Similar such land holdings “act as long-term redevelopment sites so overseas investors from China are basically land banking.”
The picturesque, 650-acre property has been closed for about 18 months, after the previous owner, Malibu Associates, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The associates listed $76 million in assets and $47 million in liabilities.
Much of Malibu Associates’ debt came from a multimillion-dollar loan taken out for the planned “Malibu Institute,” which was intended to give the property a makeover.
“I’m a golfer; I’ve been here for years. They were the real deal,” Executive Director of the Malibu Institute Foundation Christine Carter Conway said. The group intended a major project on the land.
This was not the first time owners of the property had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Back in 2009, the club filed for bankruptcy protection after negotiations for a loan extension failed. Court papers released at the time showed the course was part owned by former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Richard Fuld. It appears the financial trouble experienced by Malibu Associates did not clear up in the seven years since that filing.
Malibu Golf Club’s sale was handled through bankruptcy courts. During the proceedings, Shinhan representatives visited the property but never met with court-appointed individuals managing the sale. The $30.5 million transaction was paid in cash according to the LA Times.
Currently, The Malibu Institute is unfinished and Malibu Golf Club is still closed. No reopening date has been announced.