For L.A. Adviser Stan Ross, Trump Loan Was Squeaker

An “exhausted” Stan Ross headed home to Los Angeles on Wednesday following six grueling weeks as lead negotiator for Donald J. Trump, the flashy East Coast developer who earlier this week avoided financial disaster with a last-minute loan package.

“I’ve seen complex deals before, but I’ve never seen one as complex as this one because of the time pressures, global scope and personalities involved,” Ross said in a telephone interview from New York.

Trump hired Ross and his Los Angeles-based accounting firm, Kenneth Leventhal & Co., to steer him through complex talks with Trump’s lenders that ultimately led to the renegotiation of Trump’s bank debt and provided him a loan package to keep his creditors temporarily at bay.

The talks were particularly difficult because Trump’s lenders number in the dozens and span the globe from New York to Tokyo. An agreement had to be reached by Tuesday midnight or Trump would have defaulted on the bonds of one of his casino hotels in Atlantic City, N.J.

Just the fact that Trump hired Ross as his lead negotiator was early confirmation that the New York developer was facing serious problems. Real estate developers in need of help are a mainstay of Ross’ business.

Ross said he was not sure that Trump was going to get his $20 million until late Tuesday afternoon, even as the nation’s wire services were reporting that the loan had been approved. In fact, Ross said, several banks raised last-minute objections that he thought might doom the deal.

Alluding to the recent National Basketball Assn. playoffs, in which a crucial three-point shot by Portland was disallowed because time had expired, Ross said: “The . . . clock was ticking and I did not want to be the guy from Portland.”

The fact that Trump survived what was a severe cash squeeze, at least temporarily, is sure to elevate the stature of Ross and his firm, whose reputation as real estate trouble shooters has earned Kenneth Leventhal & Co. friend and foe alike in the specialized world of real estate finance.

Through a spokeswoman, Trump called Ross an “extraordinary talent” who “has become a real friend” as a result of the marathon bargaining, which usually lasted into the night and through the weekends.

Ross’ firm made few friends among its accounting peers, however, when it recently issued a report critical of the outside auditors for Irvine-based Lincoln Savings & Loan, which is now insolvent. “Right now, we’re a pariah,” Ross told the New York Times in March.

Aggressive and public relations savvy, Ross has developed an impressive client list in California and across the country. At age 54, he is co-managing partner of the firm, a job he shares with company founder Kenneth Leventhal, 68, who is due to retire soon.

Ross’ advice is not cheap--about $400 an hour--not bad for the son of a kosher butcher in the Bronx whose early years included membership in a street gang as well as time at City University of New York, where he earned an accounting degree.

If the Trump talks had broken down, there was a good chance that the developer’s real estate and gambling empire would have unraveled and been forced into bankruptcy court in order to protect itself from its creditors.

Instead, an agreement was struck whereby Trump will still run his company, but under the close supervision of his lenders, who want Trump to sharply scale back his luxurious lifestyle.

“You don’t want a forced liquidation but rather a plan that recognizes asset values and pays back debts,” Ross said.

The agreement will provide Trump’s businesses with a strong chief financial officer who will help evaluate Trump’s properties and determine whether they need to be sold, refinanced or strengthened with outside money, Ross said.

Trump’s assets range from elegant to garish--from the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan to the Taj Mahal casino hotel in Atlantic City. Trump is already seeking a buyer for his money-losing airline, known as the Trump Shuttle, and his $29-million yacht, known as the Trump Princess.