(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire investor John Paulson has acquired full control of a luxury real estate development in Puerto Rico that has been at the center of a bitter legal dispute.
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Paulson Puerto Rico is now the 100% owner of the Vanderbilt Residences, a 22-story beachfront residential tower being built in San Juan, the company said in a statement.
A legal fight over the tower erupted in 2023 when Paulson’s longtime business partner in the US territory, Fahad Ghaffar, argued he invested $11 million in the project for a 44% stake.
In numerous court filings, Paulson claimed that Ghaffar had no, or little, ownership and counter-sued. The agreement settles this part of their broad-ranging legal feud, both parties said.
“By acquiring full ownership, we will be able to move forward expeditiously with completing this iconic project,” John Paulson said in an emailed statement.
Ghaffar’s lawyer, Martin Russo, said his client was “happy to take the value of his 44% ownership in Vanderbilt Residences and move on to his other ongoing projects.”
“It saddened Mr. Ghaffar to have to resort to the court system to receive the value he created, and he is glad that further proceedings will not be necessary,” Russo added.
Paulson has been investing in Puerto Rico — a US territory of 3.2 million people — since 2013. Paulson Puerto Rico owns several high-profile properties on the island, including the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel and La Concha Resort.
The two men are still in litigation over other Puerto Rico investments, but late last year, Ghaffar dropped a fraud suit against Paulson surrounding a $17 million investment in a luxury automobile dealership on the island.
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