Exhibit 99.1
(AMEX:GTA)
AT THE
COMPANY
W. Bradley
Blair, II
President and
Chief Executive Officer
(843)
723-4653
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
July 16, 2007
GOLF TRUST OF AMERICA,
INC.
ANNOUNCES SALE OF INNISBROOK
RESORT AND GOLF CLUB TO SALAMANDER HOSPITALITY AND EXERCISE OF ITS
OPTION TO PURCHASE ITS OUTSTANDING PREFERRED
SHARES
CHARLESTON, SC, July
16, 2007 — Golf Trust of America, Inc. (AMEX:GTA -
News) (the “Company”) announced today that on July
16, 2007, the Company and certain of its affiliated entities
completed the sale of its largest asset, the Innisbrook Resort and
Golf Club, a 900-acre destination resort located in Palm Harbor,
Florida, featuring four championship golf courses including the
famed Copperhead, site of the PGA TOUR’s PODS Championship
played in March. Salamander Innisbrook, LLC, Salamander
Innisbrook Securities, LLC and Salamander Innisbrook Condominium,
LLC (collectively, the “Buyer”) are entities related to
Salamander Hospitality and are all owned and controlled by Sheila
C. Johnson. The Buyer purchased the business (the
“Business”) of the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club (the
“Resort”), certain related assets and liabilities and
the Company’s equity interest in Golf Host
Securities, Inc. In addition to the assumption of
certain liabilities relating to the Resort and the Business, the
Buyer paid to the Company, upon the closing of the transactions,
$35 million in cash, subject to certain adjustments.
Sheila Johnson
owns interests in the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the
NHL’s Washington Capitals, and is President and Managing
Partner of the WNBA’s Washington Mystics. Her new lodging
company, Salamander Hospitality, owns the Mobil 5 Star, AAA 5
Diamond rated Woodlands Resort & Inn in Summerville, South
Carolina, the 340-acre Salamander Resort & Spa, currently under
development in Middleburg, Virginia and Salamander Management
Services, which provides development and management expertise for
unique independent hotels and resorts throughout the country. For
additional information, please contact Prem Devadas, President,
Salamander Hospitality at (540) 687-3710 and visit the website at
www.salamanderhospitality.com.
W.
Bradley Blair, II, President and CEO of the Company stated,
“Over the last couple of years, the Company’s Board of
Directors has evaluated numerous options on the question of
sel
