Trump Offers to Buy Rest of Resorts’ Common Stock

Donald Trump, the New York developer who controls Resorts International Inc., said Monday that he has proposed to buy all of the casino operator’s remaining common shares at $15 each.

On Nov. 2, Trump, who is chairman of Resorts, began an offer to buy 167,00 outstanding shares of Class B common stock of Resorts for $135 per share, or a total of $22.5 million. The offer expires Jan. 4.

The Class B shares carry 100 times the voting power of Class A shares. Last month’s offer would give him 93% of the Class B stock. He owned 78% of the Class A shares before the offer.

Trump said he advised the Resorts board that he was making the offer as a result of Resorts’ inability to obtain financing to complete the Taj Mahal casino. The huge casino is in Atlantic City, N.J.

No Financing

Trump said he was making the tender offer because he would only commit all of the resources of the Trump Organization to the project if he owned 100% of Resorts. Trump said the financial backing of his organization would make it possible to finish the casino.

It has become impossible to obtain financing to complete the Taj Mahal because of significant cost overruns incurred by the casino’s previous management along with the state of the financial markets after October’s stock market crash, Trump said.

At a hearing before the New Jersey Casino Control Commission earlier this month, Trump said $550 million was needed to complete the casino hotel.

Alan Greenberg, chairman and chief executive of Bear, Stearns & Co., which is Resorts’ investment banker, said the company could not raise the funds to complete the Taj Mahal without Trump’s involvement.

Crosby Shares

Trump said the Taj Mahal’s opening has been delayed numerous times and the cost of the casino is now estimated to be about $930 million.

Earlier, the cost of the casino was placed at $750 million.

Trump also owns the Trump Plaza and Trump’s Castle casinos in Atlantic City.

The Taj Mahal, with 1,250 guest rooms and a casino of 120,000 square feet, is to be twice as large as any other Atlantic City casino hotel.

In March, Trump agreed to pay $79 million for 585,000 shares of Class B stock owned by the estate of James Crosby, chairman and founder of Resorts.