Chapter 20 - Crane capital was already committed
Greta’s family office had signed a letter of intent to invest:
$18 million
into a refinancing vehicle connected to one Lucchesi hotel project.
Nonbinding on final closing.
Subject to diligence.
Why?
Greta expected:
Family relationship.
Preferred access.
Long-term partnership.
When wedding collapsed, she withdrew.
Could she?
Yes.
The letter allowed it.
Did that hurt me?
Temporarily.
We had to find replacement capital.
Was I going to lose the empire?
No.
The hotel had value.
Debt markets existed.
Another investor eventually came in at less favorable pricing.
Cost to my company over the refinance term:
Several million dollars more than the Crane proposal likely would have cost.
Painful.
Survivable.
Veronica’s threat:
“Choose that girl, and you’ll lose this entire empire”
was emotional exaggeration built around a real financial pressure point.
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They thought I would be afraid of losing cheap capital.
I was not afraid enough.
