[Image: Val de Vie Estate / Facebook]
Billionaire businessman Enrique Razon, whose company was awarded the R11-billion Durban port deal, has bought the Pearl Valley Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course.
The deal includes all the bells and whistles associated with the golf course as well as the Pearl Valley Hotel, all situated on the picturesque Pearl Valley Estate between Paarl and Franschhoek.
Razon, who also manages a golf club and organises golf tournaments through various companies in his native Philippines, is the second-richest man in that country. According to News24, he made his billions by building the world’s largest independent port terminal operator.
The deal may have a positive side-effect for the local community as one of the conditions of the sale required the new owner to spend at least R350,000 to build solar systems for two rural schools or clinics.
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The acquiring firm is SA Golf, which is controlled by Crescentspring Holdings, which in turn is incorporated in the Philippines and controlled by Razon. Val De Vie Investments owned 50% of the golf course, and a consortium of partners, including the Mantis Collection, a conservation-focused hotel group, owned the other 50%.
Olympic gold medallist Ryk Neethling, who now stays afloat as marketing and brand director for Val De Vie Group, told News24 that the deal has been a massive success.
“In [the] nine years that we owned the asset, we ended up developing and selling close to 300 units at Pearl Valley and turned the golf course and estate around to consistently be one of the top three golf courses in SA. There are now only three unsold stands remaining.”
Neethling went on to say that the intention was not to be a long-term golf course operator.
“When we received this excellent offer for the golf course we had to take it. We believe Mr Razon will make the necessary investment to take Pearl Valley Golf Course to the next level it deserves.”
The cost of buying a hotel and golf course in the billionaire’s playground of Paarl Valley has not been disclosed. Razon is however reported to have a net worth of R193 billion, so the price on the sticker probably didn’t matter all that much.
[Source: News24]
