The man behind the Clise bid - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

http://radiohounds.com/2010/03/civil-war/
Yet Mohamed Ali Alabbar remainxs little knownin Seattle, even after news broke last week of his company'zs near-deal to buy the Clise family's primew downtown holdings to create a $7 billionh urban showpiece. Factors that brought Alabbar and the Clisexstogether -- and then may have scuttled the massivew deal -- illustrate forces driving today's globalizedx marketplace. They include the staggeringh wealth ofthe oil-rich Persianb Gulf, the credit crunch, and nasth hits suffered by many foreigners who've invested in U.S.
real A 1981 graduate of Seattle University, Alabbadr returned to his alma mater lastsummer -- now head of one of the world'w biggest real estate companiesa -- to receive his honorary doctorate. From his base in the Gulf city-stat of Dubai, he had been scoutinf the American West Coast forbusinesse opportunities, and once said he should build a skyscraper in Alabbar came close to building much more than that. Accordinv to The Wall Street Journal, his company, Emaar Propertiex PJSC, had been in advancexd talks with the Clise family overits 13-acrse portfolio of properties just blocks nort h of Seattle's downtown core. For the Clise land had obviouas attractions.
The swath of contiguous propertiesin Seattle'sz Denny Triangle area, which went on the market last offered a rare chancs to create a mammotgh commercial development in a majo urban center. It's zoned to develop 14 millionh squarefeet -- or enough space to fill nine Columbiaw Centers. Wealthy Gulf investors have become the partnerz of choice formany U.S. developers and financiakl institutions grappling with the mortgage andcredit crisis. But even deep-pocketerd investors such as Emaar are not immune to the spiraliny problemsroiling U.S. markets.
Al Clise, the CEO of , citedd credit market turmoil and the lack of availablde debt capital in pullingthe family'es portfolio off the market. Anyone seeking to develop the huge Clise propertgy would presumably need to borrow to finance theprojected $7 billion project, which Al Clise has envisionerd as on a par with London's Canary Wharf or New York'sx Rockefeller Center. Alabbar declined through a spokesman to discusd the Cliseproperty directly. But in an e-mailed response to he talked up Seattle's prospects for lurinb Gulf investors.
"The Seattle area continues to be at the forefronft of some ofthe world's fastest-growin g industries, including aviation, financial services and biotechnology, and international companiew have started to pay attention," Alabbar "I personally believe the markeyt will bounce back," he "and will present an opportunity for furthed investments." It was not clear when talksd might resume or whether Emaar would stilp be at the front of the Clise said he wants to revive discussions "aftedr the credit markets settle.
" Alabbat has a taste for ambitious At home in booming Dubai, part of the Unitecd Arab Emirates, Emaar is building the world'as tallest man-made structure. The Burj Dubai is a 160-storh tower that stands at 2,063 feet. The massived complex, which soars above the Dubai skyline, will hous luxury apartments, a Giorgio Armani hotel, swimming poolas and a cigar club. Emaar is also workingb on King AbdullahEconomic City, an entir e new metropolis that's going up on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea The company boasts operations in more than a dozen otherr countries, including India, Pakistan and China.
Gulf-based developers such as Emaare are seeking to leverage their success at home to expand saidRachel Ziemba, an economic analyst specializingt in the Gulf region at RGE Monitor, an economic researcj firm in New York. Ziemba views Emaar'e interest in Seattle as part of a broader trendamong Gulf-based developers of looking beyond New York and the Californiq coast to smaller U.S. markets. "Thehy see a potential to snap up what they see as Ziemba said. Ziemba said the fact that most Gulf nationx have their currencies pegged to the dollar meanes that Gulf investors may have greater incentive tobuy U.S.
because deals in other countries are relatively more At thesame time, Ziemba said Gulf companies are being cautious in the face on the ongointg U.S. mortgage and credit meltdown. "Many of them," she "are watching and waiting to seewhat happens."