March 28, 2024

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Fashion Nova CEO Richard Saghian buys $188 Bel-Air mansion

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A judge has approved Fashion Nova CEO Richard Saghian’s plan to buy a $188 million dollar Bel-Air mansion.

This roughly 9755sq m Los Angeles mansion really is the one for Fashion Nova founder and CEO Richard Saghian.

A bankruptcy court judge on Monday approved his $US141 million ($A188.6m) deal for “The One”, a 21-bedroom Bel-Air property – the biggest home in the City of Angels – which not only once aspired to fetch a sky-high $US500 million ($A669m), but also ultimately accumulated more than $US250 million ($A334m) in debts over the years, the New York Post reports.

Bloomberg reports that Deborah Saltzman, the US Bankruptcy Court judge overseeing this case, ruled that the March 3 no-reserve auction sale should move forward, despite certain objections over the final price not being high enough to compensate creditors.

“It doesn’t feel like a good result,” said Judge Saltzman. “It’s a justified result.”

Mr Saghian, who placed the winning bid, was just one of five bidders to take part in the sale.

“I’m grateful that Judge Saltzman approved my bid,” Mr Saghian told the Post in an emailed statement. He had argued that the court should approve his bid because he followed the process and has enough money in his coffers.

“I look forward to collaborating with the City of Los Angeles, the Bel-Air Association, my new neighbours and my design team to complete and perfect this iconic property.”

Mr Saghian’s winning bid in the early March auction, handled by Concierge Auctions, amounted to $US126 million ($A168.6m), but grew to $US141 million ($A188.6m) when adjusted for the fee.

At the time, before the press outed Mr Saghian as the buyer, reports said the winner planned on using the home as an investment.

Developed by former film producer Nile Niami over the course of a decade, the mansion certainly comes with certain bragging rights.

It stands on 1.6 hectares of land with 360-degree views of downtown Los Angeles, the Pacific Ocean and the San Gabriel Mountains – and it’s aptly packed with over-the-top amenities, such as five pools, a beauty salon and a 30-car garage.

But issues added up. Mr Niami – who didn’t respond to the Post’s request for comment – ran afoul of his lenders, and one prompted to file a foreclosure auction on the property last June. But last October, Mr Niami put The One into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and that paused the foreclosure auction and gave him the chance to find his own buyer.

In addition to hitting the auction block in March, The One listed for sale on the luxury residential market, asking $US295 million ($A395m).

Mr Niami and his ex-wife, Yvonne, owned The One through the company Crestlloyd, LLC. But finding a buyer on the open market was difficult, and that was reportedly due in part to alleged construction defects cited in court records, such as cracks and stains along the bulk of roughly 2787sq m of white marble flooring.

The One still also doesn’t have a certificate of occupancy, meaning no one can reside there. The brokers representing the $US295 million ($A395m) additionally said the auction price was ultimately reasonable.

Still, critics of the auction sale objected to a lack of a minimum required bid, and that the war in Ukraine impacted offers from prospective foreign buyers.

One creditor contesting the deal was Joseph Englanoff, an LA doctor with some $US20 million ($A27m) in claims.

Bloomberg notes he argued the auction failed to nab higher bids due to disruptions in global markets over the invasion of Ukraine – adding in a court filing that deep-pocketed prospective buyers from Asia and the Middle East toured The One and expressed interest. No foreign party ultimately placed a bid.

Meanwhile, lawyers for the Canadian firm Inferno Investment Inc., also with some $US20 million ($A27m) in claims, had cited a written offer from a Saudi royal willing to shell out $US160 million ($A214m), as well as “multiple potential buyers circling with higher numbers,” according to Bloomberg.

Judge Saltzman dismissed those claims, saying that no formal or approved offers came through following the early March auction.

Mr Niami, for his part, told Bloomberg he’ll now focus on something new: a reality TV network he wants to call “The One Truth.”

“I’m not worried about The One,” he told the outlet. “I’m moving on.”

This article originally appeared in New York Post and was reproduced with permission

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