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Omar Amanat

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Omar Amanat
NationalityAmerican
EducationMontville High School, class of 1990[1][2]
OccupationEntrepreneur

Omar Sharif Amanat is an American entrepreneur, an investor in media, finance and technology companies, and the chairman of the Aman Resorts Group.[5]

Career

Amanat worked at startup online trading firm Datek Online,[6] which was acquired by Ameritrade for $1.3 billion in 2002. Afterward, he moved to Texas and partnered with Philip Berber on a prototype online trading system called Cyber-Block,[7] which was acquired by Charles Schwab for $488 million in 2000, before moving to New York to start Tradescape,[6] of which he was the chief executive.[8] In 2002, E*Trade acquired Tradescape for $276 million.[9]

Entertainment industry

Amanat is a shareholder of The Twilight Saga studio Summit Entertainment, via a 20% ownership stake in Peak Group Holdings.[10] Brent Lang of The Wrap called him "the most powerful person in Hollywood you've never heard of".[10] Summit was acquired by Hunger Games studio Lions Gate for $912.5 million and Peak became one of its largest shareholders.[11]

He was the executive producer of the 2007 drama The Visitor and the 2008 comedy drama Smart People.[12][13]

Aman Resorts

Amanat is the founder and Chairman of Peak Hotels & Resorts Limited and Aman Resorts Group Limited (ARGL) a joint venture between Amanat and Aman founder Adrian Zecha, which purchased luxury hotel and resort chain Aman Resorts from DLF for $360 million on February 10, 2014.[14] In March 2016, the chapter 11 involuntary bankruptcy filing against Aman Resorts Group Ltd. was dismissed by a judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.[15]

In July 2014 Amanat filed suit in the High Court of London against Vladislav Doronin, the owner of Aman Resorts, claiming Doronin committed breaches of a shareholders’ agreement and forced the unlawful ouster of Amanresorts founder Adrian Zecha as CEO of Amanresorts. Amanat claimed the decision to remove Zecha as CEO did not have board approval and brought a case to the High Court in London, which on 14 July reinstated Zecha as CEO. The judge's decision, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, was a victory for Omar Amanat.[16] Two days later Doronin filed a counter-lawsuit in New York [17] where Doronin lost the case when the New York judge ruled that the lawsuit must be decided in England [18] In July 2014, London’s High Court permitted a board decision to stand which replaced Zecha with Olivier Jolivet as CEO.[19] In March 2016 it was reported that "Vladislav Doronin has scored victories in London and New York in a long-running dispute" with Amanat.[20]

Litigation

Amanat has been involved in a number of high profile lawsuits during his career:

  • Shortly after the acquisition of Tradescape by E*Trade, litigation commenced between E*Trade and MarketXT each alleging fraud on the part of the other.[21]
  • Summit Entertainment threatened litigation against Amanat if he continued to "misrepresent that he’s involved in the ownership, management, decision-making, and operations".[22] Relating to the same Amanat also threatened libel proceedings against British newspapers who called him an imposter in relation to his claims of involvement with Summit Entertainment, which led to them apologising, publishing a retraction and making payments to a charity of Amanat's choice.[23]
  • The disputes relating to the ownership and control of Aman Resorts have led to litigation in both New York[24] and London.[25]
  • Amanat was also involved in lawsuits in connection with Bridges TV.[26]

Bankruptcy

In 2004 a bankruptcy petition was lodged against Amanat.[27] The circumstances of the filing were highly unusual. Fortune reported the following transcript of Judge Alan Gropper:[27]

You might certainly be interested in reading how Mr. Amanat started off his Chapter 7 case, which was absolutely extraordinary. He induced his chauffeur to file an involuntary petition against him on the theory that, well, in an involuntary [bankruptcy] he could get an automatic stay against a number of creditors who are going against him, but it wouldn’t stop him from engaging in whatever transactions he wanted to ... I made no finding there that he had perjured himself ... on the first occasion that he appeared before this court. So I’m not saying I make any such finding now, but you can draw your own conclusions.

The bankruptcy petition was subsequently dismissed, as was a subsequent appeal against its dismissal by Amanat.[28] Fortune also reported that "[b]efore the case was over, the bankruptcy judge, Gropper, found that Amanat executed fraudulent conveyances, deceived creditors, and backdated documents."[27]

Arrest

In July 2016 Amanat was arrested as part of the criminal case against KIT Digital.[29][30] Prosecutors asserted that Amanat with Kaleil Isaza Tuzman, Stephen E. Maiden and an unnamed individual used an investment vehicle controlled by Tuzman to purchase KIT Digital shares.[29] Maiden was sentenced in February 2015 to seven years in prison; [29] Tuzman is presently in prison in Colombia, and his extradition back to the U.S. to face charges is being sought.[31][32] Former Chief Financial Officer Robin Smyth pleaded guilty to criminal charges in March 2016 and has been assisting prosecutors.[30]

Philanthropy

Amanat has been a board member of Human Rights Watch, Malaria No More,[33][34] and the Ad Council[35] and worked as a spokesman for Bridges TV before its debut,[36] where he advocated for Muslims to undo negative misperceptions of themselves in media.[37] He co-founded a film fund affiliated with the United Nations called the Alliance of Civilizations Media Fund[38] Amanat commissioned Harvard Medical School to research the physiological effects on minorities who watch images of violence being perpetrated on fellow minorities.[39][40]

He has been an executive producer of films including The Visitor,[41] Darfur Now,[41] Smart People,[41] and The Mysteries of Pittsburgh.[41]

Personal life

Amanat has three children with ex-wife Helena Houdová.[42][3]

References

  1. ^ "Busy Boonton Township recreation, Denville PBA hosts dance". newjerseyhills.com. 20 October 2005. Retrieved 17 July 2016. This year, Omar Amanat, Class of 1990;...
  2. ^ "Hall of Fame / Welcome". montville.net. Retrieved 17 July 2016. 2005 Omar Amanat
  3. ^ a b c "The Global Battle for the World's Most Exclusive Hotel Chain". fortune.com. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  4. ^ Whitehouse, Kaja (14 July 2016). "Omar Amanat can't afford to make bail". pagesix.com. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Paying the Price for a Personal Drill Sergeant". The New York Times. 23 May 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  6. ^ a b Matthew Goldstein Tradescape Becomes a Contender SmartMoney. March 13, 2000. Accessed February 9, 2011.
  7. ^ Business Week http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=430125&privcapId=40485923&previousCapId=42368917&previousTitle=National%20Security%20Solutions%20Inc
  8. ^ "Firm to Offer Cash for Stock Orders". The New York Times. 21 February 2001. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  9. ^ "E*Trade Shareholder Filing: S.E.C 10-Q Quarterly Report" (PDF). shareholder.com. June 30, 2002.
  10. ^ a b Brent Lang (March 14, 2011). "Summit Investor's Libel Suit Reveals Omar Amanat's Control" The Wrap Accessed August 5, 2011.
  11. ^ Alex Ben Block (1/13/2012). [1].
  12. ^ Alex Ben Block (10 March 2011). "Summit Investor Sues Brit Tabloids for Calling Him 'Impostor' (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  13. ^ "Omar Amanat". IMDb. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  14. ^ ARUN KUMAR, ET Bureau Feb 10, 2014, 10.02AM IST. "Arun Kumar". Articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2016-07-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Rizzo, Lillian. "Judge Dismisses Involuntary Bankruptcy Against Former Aman Resorts Owner". Wall Street Journal. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  16. ^ "London Court Rules Doronin Must Step Down as Amanresorts CEO - WSJ". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  17. ^ "Russian Real Estate Investor Doronin Sues Amanresorts Partner". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  18. ^ Johnson, Richard (17 December 2014). "Doronin forced to move Aman Resort case back to UK". Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  19. ^ "London's High Court Permits Aman Group's Board to Remove CEO". Luxury Hotel Acquisitions. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  20. ^ "Aman Resorts Owner Doronin Scores Legal Wins in Long-Running Dispute". Wall Street Journal. 14 March 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ Erin Marie Daly. "Judge OKs Fraud Suits In E-Trade, MarketXT Spat". Law 360. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  22. ^ "Summit Threatens Litigation Over 'Twilight' "Misrepresentations"". Deadline. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  23. ^ Brent Lang (14 July 2011). "Summit investor Omar Amanat wins tabloid settlement". Reuters. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  24. ^ Tiffany Kary (10 March 2016). "Battle for Aman Luxury Resorts Spills Over Into New York". Bloomberg. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  25. ^ "Judge turns down preliminary claim in international hotel chain battle". The Caterer. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  26. ^ Jay Tokasz (20 December 2004). "MUSLIM TV NETWORK DEBUTED AMID LITIGATION". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  27. ^ a b c "The global battle for the ultimate luxury hotel chain". Fortune. Retrieved 15 July 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  28. ^ "In Re: Omar Sharif Amanat". www.plainsite.org. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  29. ^ a b c "Omar Amanat Arrested and Charged as Kit Digital Case Widens". Bloomberg. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  30. ^ a b "Fraud Charges Cloud Entrepreneur's Story of His Success". Bloomberg. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  31. ^ "The Man Who Went From Harvard to Goldman to Colombian Jail". Bloomberg. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  32. ^ Raymond, Nate. "New York entrepreneur Amanat indicted for fraud scheme". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  33. ^ "Blood-Stained Hands". hrw.org. 7 July 2005. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  34. ^ "Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax" (PDF). malarianomore.org.
  35. ^ "Advisory Committee". Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  36. ^ Jay Tokasz (December 20, 2004). "Muslim TV Network Debuted Amid Litigation". Buffalo News. p. B.3.
  37. ^ News aljazeerah.info: First American Muslim Television Channel Announced by Bridges Network Archived 2007-12-09 at the Wayback Machine
  38. ^ Oprah Winfrey "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-01-22. Retrieved 2011-02-16. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  39. ^ Ten Young Visionaries "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-29. Retrieved 2012-08-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  40. ^ UN Alliance of Civilizations Research http://www.unaoc.org/repository/thematic_media.pdf
  41. ^ a b c d "Omar Amanat". Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  42. ^ "Helena Houdová: Jejího exmanžela zatkla policie pro rozsáhlé podvody - iHOT.cz" (in Czech). ihot.cz. Retrieved 17 July 2016. Potkala ale bohatého podnikatele Omara Amanata, kterého si vzala, porodila mu tři děti, dala se na raw stravu a po rozpadu manželství se zhroutila.
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