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Cypress Gardens has a buyer
A judge approves the sale over objections of the park's creditors.
By MARK ALBRIGHT, Times Staff Writer
Published September 29, 2007
A Mulberry real estate investment firm with no experience in theme parks was cleared Friday to buy Cypress Gardens out of bankruptcy at the fire-sale price of $16.8-million. LandSouth Holdings Inc. also confirmed it signed Kent Buescher, the Georgia entrepreneur who resurrected Florida's oldest theme park from the grasp of subdivision developers three years ago, to run the place. The sale was approved by U.S. District Judge James Laney in a heated hearing in Columbus, Ga., over objections of creditors who lost tens of millions of dollars. LandSouth, which doesn't close on the deal until Oct. 15, promised to unveil its plans for 2008 in a few weeks, but did not return messages left this week. "We can now focus on the bright future of Cypress Gardens," said Brian Philpot, manager of LandSouth Holdings LLC. in a statement. The park gardens are protected from most development by a conservation easement with the state and about $13-million in tax money spent by the county to help Buescher acquire his interest for $7-million. Buescher's new role at the gardens came at the price of selling his other park, Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Ga. to Herschend Family Entertainment Corp. as well as his ownership in Cypress Gardens to help settle claims. The two parks fetched only one bidder each. The auction raised $51-million to be spread among those holding secure claims of more than $72-million. Unsecured creditors, however, got nothing. They protested, citing expert opinion that the two parks are worth more than $100-million, no plan for liquidating assets and no disclosure Buescher would be back in charge. Buescher led the parks into bankruptcy in 2006 during a dispute with insurers over coverage after three hurricanes interrupted rebuilding for Cypress Gardens' 2004 re-opening. Buescher had borrowed $25-million more to open it, but Landmark American Insurance refused to pay more than $7-million, claiming most damage was caused by age or deterioration. Landmark settled Friday by paying an additional $3.2-million as part of the bankruptcy. Mark Albright can be reached at albright@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8252.
[Last modified September 28, 2007, 22:48:22]
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