Amelia Island Plantation
Red Maple Investors
April 3rd, 2010 by admin No comments » Red Maple Investors has asked the Amelia Island Company to distribute the following announcement and the attached two page letter to all Club members and property owners. AIC feels it is in the community’s best interest that we distribute this information for RMI.
Red Maple Investors Town Hall Meeting For All AIP Property Owners Thursday, April 8 9:30 AM Racquet Park Conference Center
Red Maple Investors (RMI) has submitted a formal offer to purchase the Amelia Island Company. RMI invites all AIP property owners and Club members to attend an informal meeting so we can share information, objectives, issues, and facts that may impact your lifestyles and property values for years to come. We will keep it short, to the point and candid. We will introduce RMI’s partners, RePlay Resorts, whose executives will introduce their Company, its expertise, and its philosophies. Most importantly, you will have ample opportunity to get the most direct answers available to your most important concerns regarding the AIP bankruptcy and turnaround process as viewed by your fellow property owners from RMI. We encourage you to print and review the attached two page document that offers a brief overview of the AIP Situation and Red Maple Investors, LLC. The two page summary should provide a basis for some important questions and answers. Please pass along this email and letter to any AIP friends who do not have access to email so everyone will be aware of this opportunity. We are planning to arrange a ‘webinar’ or similar vehicle for delivering content to those who are unable to attend the meeting in person. Once arranged, we will provide time, date and other access information in a subsequent email blast. We will make every effort to assure this meeting is the most informative to date concerning the AIC financial crisis and the issues and choices we all face over the next few months. We look forward to seeing you Thursday. Sincerely, Red Maple Investors, LLC
AIP Situation Overview: Living, working and vacationing at AIP has been nearly ideal for several decades. Certainly most will agree that AIP’s advantages have far outweighed its disadvantages. However, AIP is an extremely complex integrated community and resort property. The recent bankruptcy is proof. In our daily lives on AIP, property owners interact with “the Company”, the “Community Association”, the “Amelia Island Club”, and our “condominium associations”. AIP has approximately 35 individual associations which have overlapping interests to manage and protect. In a community with so many different special interest groups, there will inevitably be disagreement over issues such as the effectiveness of delivered services and the fairness of cost sharing. Each entity on the AIP property has its own issues such as: property to maintain, its own governance (budgets, rules, and procedures), and its own ‘business’ objectives and legal restrictions. This diversity within the AIP community creates numerous operational and financial challenges for everyone, especially for the future owners of AIC. In bankruptcy, we are all confronted with a significant challenge. The bankruptcy process and the outcome will greatly impact our relationships, lifestyles and property values for years to come. Some of the choices we make now will be irreversible. As a community, our collective common interests can unite us or our diverse special interests can divide us. We have a unique ‘one time’ opportunity to create a better community by working together and trusting that our common interests are the pathway to maximizing our individual interests. Red Maple Investors, LLC Red Maple Investors, LLC (RMI) was formed in October by a group of AIP property owners and Club members. From its inception, RMI’s mission has been to stabilize and reorganize the Amelia Island Company in order to help preserve and enhance the lifestyle and property values for the entire community, which we define as: all property owners (whether club members or not) plus the resort’s employees inclusive of all the vendors and tradesmen who provide us with goods and services. The extended AIP community consists of thousands of families. This past November, RMI members provided critical assistance to the AIP community by establishing a $5 million escrow account when AIC’s senior lender, Prudential Retirement Insurance and Annuity Company (PRIAC), refused to loan AIC the funds needed to keep the business going with the full knowledge that by their refusal, PRIAC’s would force AIC into an involuntary liquidation scenario. Without RMI’s backstop financing, AIC could have closed its doors on November 20, 2009 when it would have been unable to meet payroll. Because of RMI’s loan commitment, AIC was able to elect Chapter 11 protection. Ultimately, RMI’s pressure resulted in PRIAC extending the $5 million line of credit that is now permitting our uninterrupted lifestyle with a more orderly reorganization of AIC. Recently, RMI members have offered more than their financial resources, they have offered their wealth of knowledge and expertise – and they have offered their personal commitments to their and your community. On Wednesday, March 17, Red Maple Investors submitted their formal bid to purchase AIC by their “Commitment to Purchase” the Amelia Island Company. This commitment comes from individuals who have enjoyed success in their professional careers: twelve (12) of the fifteen individual RMI members have served as either CEO or Chairman of substantial corporations; eight (8) have considerable financial expertise having served as Chief Financial Officer of respected corporations or as Chief Executive Officer of major financial or investment institutions; several are currently serving on Boards of Directors of multi-billion dollar corporations. Supplementing the commitments of the individual RMI property owners, RePlay Resorts has joined RMI and has committed substantial equity. RePlay brings their considerable expertise to the enhancement of the AIP community. Cynical individuals within our community may view RMI’s commitment as motivated by a desire to achieve personal financial gain. This is categorically not RMI’s purpose. The RMI individuals understand that the AIP turnaround will be difficult and will take several years. Financial rewards for RMI individuals will likely be minimal. RMI’s commitment is aimed at: 1) preventing the disintegration of a wonderful community, 2) enhancing property values for all AIP property owners, and 3) enhancing employment opportunities for our employees and tradesmen by upgrading the resort and Club. For the RMI individual investors, risks associated with the purchase of AIP far outweigh any possible financial rewards. If another buyer will consummate a better solution for the community, RMI will quickly defer to any ‘friendly’ party. RMI members have no desire to become enemies of their neighbors while embarking on a 3-5 year resort community turnaround plan that places their personal capital at risk. With respect to an equity club, a financially sound Club is essential to RMI’s commitment. To our knowledge, only RMI is willing to structure either an equity club or a professionally operated RMI/RePlay owned club. As far as we know, only RMI has offered the additional option to structure the ‘future’ purchase of assets for an equity club. Answers to a few important questions will determine the viability of the equity club. In particular, the Club must secure sufficient funding to accomplish the Equity Club conversion plan. For long term viability, the plan must be sufficiently supported by members to adequately fund Club operations. If the Club is unsuccessful in raising sufficient initial capital, or if the club is encumbered by excessive debt or is underfunded due to insufficient member support, the AIP community at large will be impacted. The AIC Plan of Reorganization will be impacted by the success of the Club. RMI wants to get it right. With respect to RMI’s efforts, if the AIP Community does not enthusiastically support RMI’s effort or if another solution for AIP’s financial predicament is more attractive and more viable, RMI cannot succeed and will gladly dissolve without regret. However, if RMI withdraws, we are concerned that, at the end of the day, there may be no other ‘friendly’ buyer for this complex community. Evidence is mounting in support of our concern as dozens of potential buyers have declined to invest after studying AIC. We invite questions from all parties concerning our activities, objectives or interests. RMI believes there should be open and factual communication within the community concerning this serious financial crisis. RMI members want the same things you want – we ‘are’ you. Sincerely, Red Maple Investors, LLC April 2, 2010
Provided for informational purposes by John Holbrook - Realtor
Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty
904-415-0171
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