A PRIME waterway-facing bungalow in Cove Grove in Sentosa held by Ezra Holdings founder and chairman Lee Kian Soo is finally being sold, said sources.

The private treaty deal is understood to have been entered into last week. An agent from Edmund & Tie Co Property Network is understood to have been involved in the transaction but the firm declined to comment when contacted by The Business Times.

While details on pricing were not available, talk in the market is that as recently as two weeks ago, the owner was prepared to consider offers of around S$16 million or S$1,390 per square foot based on the land area of 11,515 sq ft.

The mainboard-listed offshore and marine group filed for Chapter 11 protection under the US Bankruptcy Code last month. This was months after Ezra flagged going concerns issues in its full-year results released last November. In its fourth quarter ended Aug 31, 2016, Ezra posted a massive net loss of US$339.6 million and saw its equity to controlling interest plunge to US$232.98 million against over US$1 billion of short-term debt on its books. In early February, the group acknowledged that another US$170 million writedown may be on the table tied to its investment in its Emas Chiyoda Subsea business unit. Ezra chief executive Lionel Lee, son of the chairman, previously used the Sentosa Cove bungalow but the property is now vacant. Mr Lionel Lee and his family have other real estate holdings. These include a 24.98 per cent stake in Thailand' s Raimon Land. The Sentosa Cove bungalow that is being sold is on a site with 89.5 years' balance leasehold tenure. The villa, which has a private berth, spans two storeys, with a basement and an attic. It has five ensuite bedrooms, a swimming pool and an entertainment room.