Business news with words deal+thomas+world. 3 news.

Jeff Arensdorf thought his company was one of the few Wild West World investors that got paid. At least he thought that until late last week, when attorneys hit Village Charters with the largest preference case to date in Wild West World's bankruptcy. The bankruptcy estate wants the $100,000 that Village Charters got back from longtime customer Thomas Etheredge in April. Attorneys claim Etheredge repaid Arensdorf's company April 9 and April 23 for a January loan. They say that is on or within the time frame established by law for a preference filing, which allows the bankruptcy estate to reclaim that money. "Now, I was pretty sure he'd get that park open," Arensdorf said. "After that, you know, who could be sure? So I set up the loan as a 60-day deal. Felt pretty good about it. We'd had a good four-year relationship with Thomas."

De Beers sells one of its most famous mines RICHARD BURTON probably knew nothing of the small South African town of Cullinan when he bought yet another chunky diamond for Elizabeth Taylor in 1969. But the rock, still known as the Taylor Burton, was found there, together with a quarter of the world's diamonds over 400 carats. The Cullinan mine has also produced what is still the largest rough gem in the world--the whopping 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond--parts of which adorn England's Crown Jewels. Now the mine itself, like so many of the diamonds unearthed there, is about to change hands. On November 22nd De Beers, the diamond giant that has owned the mine since 1930, said it was selling it to a consortium led by Petra Diamonds, one of South Africa's emerging diamond producers, for 1 billion rand ($147m) in cash. Provided regulators approve the deal, the transfer should take place by the middle of next year. De Beers is selling because the mine is no longer profitable, despite attempts to turn it around. But Petra reckons the mine still has another 20 years of production in it and plans to extract at least 1m carats a year. The unexploited "Centenary Cut" deposit, which lies under the existing mine, could yield a lot more. This is good news for the mine's 1,000 or so employees and for the town, which has depended on the diamond business since Sir Thomas Cullinan discovered a prospect there in 1898 that contained kimberlite, a rock that can be rich in diamonds. The mine, established in 1903, is one of 30 or so kimberlite diamond mines in the world, and is believed to be still the world's second-most-valuable diamond resource. ...

A last-ditch attempt to save Wild West World has begun, with real estate agents mounting a final bid to find an amusement park operator to buy the failed theme park's buildings and land. Grant and Bradley Tidemann, commercial agents with J.P. Weigand in Wichita who represent the bankruptcy estate, think there's a park operator out there willing to bring new rides to Park City and try it again. Any deal wouldn't include the collection of largely used rides park founder Thomas Etheredge assembled, with most already earmarked for sale. Etheredge closed Wild West World on July 9, and the park filed for bankruptcy protection the same day. "The first step is to sell the land for its highest and best use, which we think is an amusement park," Bradley Tidemann said.