Trump takes action over New York site sale

US property magnate Donald Trump has launched a $1 billion (€0.8 billion) lawsuit in connection with a New York site that was part-bought by Irish investors in June.

Mr Trump alleges a "staggering breach" of fiduciary duty by his Hong Kong partners under the group Hudson Waterfront for agreeing to sell the Manhattan site for at least $1 billion less than what it could have fetched.

The 92-acre site was sold for $1.76 billion to a consortium led by private equity firm, Carlyle and Extell, a New York developer. The consortium also included a group of 10 Irish investors drawn from the private clients of stockbroking firm, Davy. The Irish group took a $440 million stake in the purchase.

But the Hong Kong investors are trying to shrug off Mr Trump's grip after they won the latest round in the legal battle.

A judge in the supreme court of New York last week issued a stay against an earlier court order blocking Hong Kong businessman Mr Henry Cheng and his associates from accessing profits from a real estate deal.

The matter is set to be concluded on September 1st in a Manhattan supreme court hearing.

Mr Trump partnered with the investors, including Mr Cheng and a Mr Lo, in 1994 and retained a stake in the site. He stands to pocket about one third of the profits from the sale.

He claims, however, that other bidders were interested in buying the site for a higher price, including Colony Capital, which made an unsolicited offer to buy the site for $2.9 billion. The Hong Kong investors say they considered several other bids and that Carlyle and Extell made the best offer.

The Irish investors became involved in the deal after raising the necessary funds in just 10 days. They raised $100 million in equity and borrowed $340 million from banks.

Mr Trump is furious that the buyers are "flipping" parts of the property for a large profit. Carlyle and Extell have agreed to sell three buildings on the parcel of land to developer Equity Residential for $816 million on closing. Ten more buildings can be built on the land, according to Carlyle.