The sale of the Balboa Bay Club and Resort and the Newport Beach Country Club to a wealthy Chinese investor has been called off, according to sources familiar with the transaction.
International Bay Club Inc.—a Newport Beach-based company that owns the tony oceanfront yacht club and the nearby golf club—has terminated a deal to sell itself to Seven-One Capital Business Inc., an entity headed up by China-based energy and transportation entrepreneur Winston Chung, according to sources.
The sale apparently fell apart over Chung’s inability to provide the funds for closing the deal.
Difficulty getting money out of China—a common refrain among potential Chinese investors in U.S. properties and businesses these days—appears to have been the downfall of the deal. China’s government has tightened up the amount of money that investors can shift out of the country as it seeks to prevent capital outflows amid concerns over its domestic economy and the stability of its currency.
A source close to the Balboa Bay Club said the ripple effect scuttled the deal with Chung.
“The Chinese Central Government had not allowed the movement of the necessary funds,” the source said.
See this week’s print edition of the Business Journal for more details.
