By Neil Hartnell

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Sarkis Izmirlian’s deal to settle his multi-billion damages award against Baha Mar’s main contractor will end the threatened winding-up of two other major Nassau resorts, it was revealed yesterday.

The Lyford Cay-based developer, who conceived and executed the Cable Beach strip’s $4.2bn transformation into today’s mega resort complex, disclosed that the “resolution” struck with China Construction America (CCA) “meets our expectations” although neither unveiled the sum that Baha Mar’s original developer will now be paid to end their decade-long fight.

However, papers obtained by Tribune Business reveal that - provided the settlement is approved by the New Jersey federal bankruptcy court at a December 2, 2025, hearing - all legal battles between Mr Izmirlian and the Chinese state-owned contractor will cease provided the deal is implemented in full.

The documents confirm that, apart from ending CCA’s bid to overturn Mr Izmirlian’s now-$1.8bn damages award by the New York state courts, the settlement will also halt his own bid to wind-up the immediate parent entity for downtown Nassau’s British Colonial and Margaritaville Beach resorts before the Bahamian Supreme Court.

Newspaper advertisements published last week disclosed that Mr Izmirlian’s petitions to wind-up CCA (Bahamas), which holds both resorts, as well as its CSCEC (Bahamas) affiliate, were due to be heard before Justice Simone Fitzcharles in less than two weeks’ time over a three-day period between December 9-11. CSCEC stands for China State Construction and Engineering Corporation, CCA’s immediate Chinese parent.

That threat has now been averted by the deal struck between CCA on one side, and Mr Izmirlian and his BML Properties vehicle on the other. The two Bahamian entities, together with CCA’s US operation, were jointly liable to pay the $1.642bn awarded to Baha Mar’s original developer after the New York State Supreme Court’s comprehensive verdict in favour of his ‘fraud’ and ‘breach of contract’ claim.

Mr Izmirlian, in a statement released yesterday, said: "We are pleased to have put this matter behind us and reached a resolution that meets our expectations.

“The economic impact of Baha Mar will be felt for decades to come, and we remain proud to have been the visionaries behind this landmark development. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the people of The Bahamas for their unwavering support and the many letters of encouragement throughout the past decade."

The exact sum that CCA and its affiliates will pay Mr Izmirlian is redacted, or ‘blacked out’, in the New Jersey legal papers obtained by Tribune Business. However, the compensation will take the form of a “cash payment” and must be paid within 30 days of the federal bankruptcy court approving the settlement deal.

CCA’s filings suggest that Mr Izmirlian and BML Properties have accepted a slight discount on their damages award which, with 9 percent interest accruing daily, is understood to have increased from the original $1.642bn to around $1.8bn as of yesterday. The Beijing-controlled contractor described the payment amount as “reasonable under the circumstances”, adding that it represented “a reduction.. in liabilities” by an undisclosed percentage.

However, it is unlikely that Mr Izmirlian will have accepted a payment much less than the New York State Supreme Court award, let alone the $1.8bn it has now hit, in settling the decade-long battle with CCA that was sparked by the failure to complete Baha Mar on time, and on budget, in 2015 and ultimately led to his ousting as the project’s developer.

The payout is thus still likely to be well in excess of $1bn, and CCA’s own legal filings effectively confirm that its US arm will be relying on other affiliates to finance Mr Izmirlian’s compensation, including CSCEC Holdings, its immediate parent.

“The significant value that will be provided to CCA in the form of payment of the settlement amount by, or using funds from, CSCEC Holding and other affiliates, including the non-debtor co-defendants (CCA Bahamas and CSCEC Bahamas), is a reasonable and fair exchange for releasing these difficult-to-collect inter-company claims,” CCA added.

“Put differently, obtaining access to sufficient value to fully resolve the Baha Mar litigation that has cast a shadow over CCA’s business is plainly in the best interests of the estate.”

Baha Mar’s original developer also appears to have held significant leverage for, apart from the Supreme Court winding-up petition threatening CCA’s two downtown Nassau resorts, the Chinese contractor’s legal filings make clear its US arm would have been unable to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection without securing a deal with him.

The judgment awarded to Mr Izmirlian accounted for more than 99 percent of CCA’s debts, and yesterday’s legal filings confirm that both sides had agreed to “defer” until today the “submission of any evidence” in the Supreme Court winding-up cases to allow for the settlement agreement’s filing with the New Jersey court - which has now been done.

The legal filings also reveal that the parties reached a settlement within 48 hours of beginning the New Jersey court-ordered mediation last week. “The parties convened to mediate their disputes on November 20, 2025 at the offices of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP (a US law firm),” it was confirmed.

“Following the mediation, on November 21, 2025, all parties agreed to the principal terms and conditions of the settlement, and negotiated and executed the term sheet on November 23, 2025.”

Describing the settlement as “truly global”, CCA and its attorneys added that “it resolves any and all claims” between the two sides including the contractor’s final bid to overturn the $1.8bn damages award at the New York Court of Appeals plus the Bahamian Supreme Court winding-up petition.

“The terms of the settlement include a release of claims between the parties and a resolution of the outstanding disputes related to the Baha Mar litigation, including CCA’s pending motion for leave to appeal to the New York State Court of Appeals, and the winding-up proceedings for CCA Bahamas and CSCEC Bahamas in The Bahamas initiated by BML Properties,” CCA affirmed.

“The settlement provides, inter alia, that the parties will withdraw any pending motions in either of these proceedings, including BML Properties’ pending motions in this Chapter 11 case, upon the settlement effective date.

“The parties have already contacted the New York Court of Appeals and the relevant tribunal in The Bahamas to request a stay in pending legal proceedings while the court considers this settlement motion, and have further agreed that if the settlement motion is granted, they will request that all pending legal proceedings related to the disputes, other than this motion, be paused or discontinued, and no further action be taken in them, pending payment of the settlement amount.”

The Chinese contractor hinted that its decision to settle had been sparked by uncertainties over whether its last-ditch appeal of Mr Izmirlian’s $1.642bn damages award will succeed, given that the New York Court of Appeals has yet to give it permission to mount a challenge let alone hear the substantive aspects of its case.

And the fall-out from the decade-long Baha Mar dispute has “cast a shadow” that has damaged CCA’s ability to secure new construction contracts, with the contractor arguing that further prolonging it “would maintain the cloud over CCA’s business, distract its management and ultimately undermine its business”.

“The settlement is also in the best interests of the debtor’s [CCA] estate,” the Chinese contractor argued. “The settlement will allow CCA to finally conclude the Baha Mar litigation and remove an overhang that has constrained the business operations of CCA and its operating subsidiaries for years.

“The Baha Mar litigation and related adverse judgment is the principal reason that this Chapter 11 case was filed and impacted CCA’s efforts to implement a restructuring. It also constrained the CCA group’s ability to obtain surety bonds which, in turn, limited its ability to secure new construction contracts.”

While CCA stood by its assertions that the New York verdict in favour or Mr Izmirlian was “incorrect as a matter of law”, and “feels confident it would have a strong case before the New York State Court of Appeals”, it admitted that the latter forum had yet to grant it permission to proceed with the appeal and may never do so.

“The settlement amount reflects the considered, informed business judgment of CCA and the special committee [for Chapter 11] with respect to these probabilities of success,” CCA added. “The settlement also avoids future highly complex litigation, both with BML Properties and others…

“In addition, were CCA’s motion for leave to appeal denied by the New York Court of Appeals and the Baha Mar judgment rendered effectively final and non-appealable, BML Properties has already indicated that it would seek to pursue payment from CCA’s affiliates, including CSCEC Holding, through veil-piercing and direct claims in connection with the Baha Mar litigation.

“If pursued, this litigation, even if it would not directly impact CCA’s estate, would maintain the cloud over CCA’s business, distract its management, and ultimately undermine its business. The settlement also avoids this costly and complex litigation for CCA.”