Bidding War? Los Angeles Developers Make Offer for Revel

Is Revel suddenly a hot property with competing bids? The next two days should be very telling about renewed interest in Atlantic City's shuttered casino.

The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that a pair of California developers have submitted an $80 million offer for Revel.

“We submitted an offer and provided proof of funds for the entire purchase,” Leo Pustilnikov, a partner of developer Isek Shomof told the Inquirer Monday.  According to the Los Angeles Times, Shomof is "a prominent developer of older buildings in downtown Los Angeles".

The developers are expected to be in Atlantic City on Tuesday, although it is not clear if they will be touring Revel during their visit.

Florida developer Glenn Straub's latest offer for Revel, placed after a Bankruptcy Court judge terminated the previous $ 95.4 million agreement is $82 million. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in Camden to approve the deal.

Pustilnikov said his and Shomof’s $80 million offer is effectively $8 million more than Straub’s current price, because that $82 million includes a $10 million deposit forfeited when Straub failed to complete the purchase by a Feb. 9 deadline. That makes Straub’s current deal worth $72 million in reality, Pustilnikov said.

The sticking point in the previous agreement between Revel and Straub was from Revel’s tenants that operated nightclubs and restaurants in the casino, as well as from ACR Energy Partners L.L.C., which last week asked the judge in the case to take the sale of the property out of Revel’s hands.

Straub has been attempting to reject the leases of the current tenants because he wants a free hand to modify the property.

According to the Inquirer's reporting, Pustilnikov and Shomof have a different approach.

“We would like the tenants to remain. The tenants have invested a lot of money into their spaces and have performed well in their spaces prior to them being unceremoniously removed,” Pustilnikov said.