Horizon Towers Deal In Limbo As Sales Committee Quits

Source : The Business Times, September 8, 2007

(SINGAPORE) The majority sellers of Horizon Towers were supposed to get together last night to resolve a problem, but things ended up being possibly worse.

The sales committee quit last night at the meeting held at Holiday Inn Park View Hotel, and even up to 11pm, no new committee had been formed, BT understands.

The majority sellers who arrived with their lawyers in tow were supposed to decide how to respond to a lawsuit which they face brought by Hotel Property Ltd (HPL), Morgan Stanley Real Estate managed funds and Qatar Investment Authority after the en bloc sale of their Leonie Hill property fell through last month.

The Strata Titles Board (STB) refused to grant a collective sale order, saying that Horizon Towers had filed a defective application. HPL and its partners are suing the majority sellers for failing to file a proper application.

HPL and its partners in February signed a deal with 84 per cent of the owners of Horizon Towers to buy the property en bloc for $500 million, for redevelopment. There have been media reports that some sellers regretted their decision to sell at that price when neighbouring developments later sold for twice as much per square foot.

Last night's meeting plunged into limbo when the sales committee quit. Sellers who appeared at the meeting said volunteers were being asked to serve on a new sales committee, and that two men stepped forward on condition they would be granted blanket immunity from legal proceedings.

However, they did not get their condition, and no conclusion was reached.

BT understands that by the time the meeting started, there were only three people left on the committee as the other members had quit in the past weeks. This fails to meet the quorum needed of five people on the committee.

Throughout the meeting that started at 8pm and was scheduled to end by 11:59pm yesterday, groups of people and individuals were seen leaving the ballroom at different times to discuss and to smoke.

The meeting was tightly monitored by about six security officers who made sure only majority sellers were allowed into the ballroom. Applause interspersed with cheering was heard at different intervals of the meeting.

The majority owners whom BT spoke to estimated there were more than a hundred people who turned up.

They had a mixed response regarding the outcome. One man seemed upset that the sales committee had quit and said: 'I don't know what's going to happen now. Who cares?' Another seemed pessimistic about the chances of another committee being formed: 'Who would want to be on the sales committee now with the threats of legal suits?'

At press time, the meeting was still going on, BT understands.