The receiver-managers for the defunct Baha Mar project have issued a statement seeking to debunk as "inaccurate" and "misleading" statements about the supposed restrictions placed on potential purchasers of the project by the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) those potential investors are required to sign.
According to Raymond Winder, Lai Kar Yan (Derek), and Darach Eoghan Haughey of Deloitte and Touche, the NDA governs "the treatment of confidential information in relation to the project".
Outspoken former Baha Mar director Dionisio D'Aguilar, whose distrust and disdain for the present course of dealing with the assets is well-documented, has argued on the record that the NDA prevents potential investors from contacting or communicating with Baha Mar developer Sarkis Izmirlian, his former executives and the project's main contractor, the Bahamas affiliate of China Construction America (CCA).
Without naming D'Aguilar, the receiver-managers responded to the assertion in a press statement issued yesterday.
"Media reports that the NDA prevents potential investors from contacting or communicating in any way with current or former directors, employees, customers, creditors or suppliers of the Baha Mar group or with directors or employees of CCA (Bahamas) Ltd are factually incorrect," the statement said.
"The NDA expressly allows all such contact by potential investors subject only to the receiver-managers' prior written consent, which is simply to ensure that the receiver-managers are able to manage the flow of information. This ability to manage information flow is particularly important when the providers of certain information may themselves have exposure to or an interest in acquiring or otherwise participating in the project."
According to the statement, it is common market practice in receiverships, and M&A (merger and acquisition) transactions generally, for potential investors to sign an NDA before they receive access to confidential information.
"...And, accordingly, this particular requirement of the receiver-managers is reasonable, consistent with usual market practice, and designed to maximise value for stakeholders of the Baha Mar project," the statement said.
K. Quincy Parker
Guardian Business Editor
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