The fight over the Holiday Inn Port of Miami is not over yet. An unsuccessful bidder in the hotel’s bankruptcy sale has come back swinging, asking a federal judge to bless a $107 million all-cash deal that would top the lender’s $95 million credit bid.
The would-be buyer, identified in court papers as 340 Blue Sky LLC, filed an expedited motion in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Miami on Feb. 19. The company wants the judge to approve its post-auction purchase and set a quick hearing on the proposal. The offer includes a $5.25 million escrow deposit and a promise to cover up to about $4.8 million in seller closing costs.
Auction Result Draws Scrutiny
The property went back to auction after an earlier sale was voided. When bidding resumed on Jan. 28, the sale reportedly wrapped up in a matter of minutes, with the lender’s $95 million credit bid emerging as the winner, according to Bisnow.
That report notes that Concierge Auctions ran the sale and that the asset — a 100-room Holiday Inn at 340 Biscayne Boulevard — has been marketed primarily as a redevelopment play with much higher potential value than a straightforward hotel deal. In its new motion, 340 Blue Sky points to the lightning-fast, two-party bidding and earlier registration problems as signs that the auction process was flawed and chilled competition.
Post-Auction Offer And Challenge To The Sale
In an expedited filing summarized by Chapter11Cases, 340 Blue Sky attaches a signed purchase agreement for $107 million and asks the court to treat that deal as the “highest and best” offer…