Texas Judge Approves $95M World Class Sale

A Texas judge has approved the $95M sale of three downtown Austin properties owned by embattled World Class Holdings investor Nate Paul.

The parcels are owned by an entity connected to World Class, but amid ongoing litigation a court-appointed receiver has been assigned the task of liquidating the entity’s assets. The 54,000-square-foot site is adjacent to two sides of the Austonian condo tower, Austin’s second-tallest building. It’s zoned for a development of up to 1 million square feet.

Paul is a high-profile Austin-based real estate investor and developer who amassed a billion-dollar real estate empire before he turned 30. He’s since been hit with multiple foreclosures and bankruptcies as well as a 2019 raid by the FBI. He told The Real Deal last month that he’s planning to rebuild his empire after selling off the majority of his self-storage properties out of bankruptcy.

An entity connected to New York billionaire David Bonderman’s Wildcat Capital Management is in contract to buy the sites for $95 million. Bonderman is a founding partner of private equity giant TPG Capital and co-owner of NHL’s Seattle Kraken. World Class purchased the parcels in 2012 for just over $15.6 million, according to the ABJ.

However, there are still legal hoops to jump through before the deal is final. Texas’ Third Court of Appeals is expected to consider a World Class appeal along with a related case involving its ongoing dispute with nonprofit company the Mitte Foundation, its limited partner in the shell company that owns the parcels. In a written statement to The Real Deal, a World Class spokesperson said that Mitte’s “attempt to force a sale is unlawful” and that the company “will continue to pursue all legal remedies against an improper sale.”