Sale of Aladdin moving forward

Wednesday, July 9, 2003 | 11:03 a.m.

The company that wants to turn the bankrupt Aladdin into a Planet Hollywood hotel-casino cleared another hurdle in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Tuesday.

Judge Robert C. Jones approved a 120-page disclosure statement after attorneys negotiated settlements with two creditors that had lodged objections to the plan.

"This paves a very smooth landing for confirmation," Aladdin attorney Robert Noall told Jones in a 20-minute hearing observed by an army of lawyers representing various interests in the case that began in September 2001.

In the same courtroom about 2 1/2 weeks ago, Jones presided over a contentious day-long hearing that resulted in OpBiz LLC -- a partnership comprised of Planet Hollywood co-founder Robert Earl, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., and financier Bay Harbour Management LC -- winning control of the 2,567-room Strip hotel.

The OpBiz bid of $635 million was deemed the best among three offers that emerged in the June 20 hearing.

Earl promised to turn the Aladdin into a motion-picture-themed resort bearing the name of the '90s themed restaurant chain catapulted to prominence by the likes of investor-actors Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore.

Noall said a key component to delivering the heavily edited disclosure statement on Tuesday was the negotiation of settlements with Aladdin Bazaar LLC, the holding company for Trizec Properties Inc.'s Desert Passage shopping mall, and Sturgeon Electric Co. Inc., Las Vegas, an electrical company that has had a long-standing claim against the hotel-casino.

Jones scheduled a hearing Aug. 5 for the final approval of the settlement agreements. Attorneys already have an Aug. 29 deadline to wrap up drafting a confirmation order that will be considered in a vote by creditors, a process that is expected to be a formality since a majority of the creditors approve of the OpBiz's Planet Hollywood deal.