Magna Entertainment Corp. announced Monday that its agreement with Toll Bros Inc., under which the developer would purchase 157 acres of real estate in Florida, has been terminated by the buyer.Under the agreement, MEC intended to sell the excess real estate located in Palm Beach County, Florida to Toll Bros., a Pennsylvania real estate development company that planned to develop the property adjacent to Magna's Palm Meadows training center. The agreement, which had a March 30, 2006, closing, would have netted Magna $51 million.Certain aspects of the plan had faced opposition from within Palm Beach County. MEC is now considering its options with respect to the property, which include ongoing sale discussions with Toll Bros.
"This transaction is the next step in our recapitalization plan to sell certain non-core assets, reduce debt and strengthen our balance sheet," said W. Thomas Hodgson, then-president and CEO of Magna said when the agreement was made. "We will continue to work towards our goal of selling further non-strategic real estate and other assets, to maximize realizable value, and to position MEC to attain sustainable operating profits and exploit future strategic growth opportunities. Toll Bros. is a premier builder of luxury homes and their high standards and development capabilities will result in a first class development on the land adjacent to our Palm Meadows Training Center."