Business

New Montauk project

Buyers are circling Montauk’s Panoramic View Resort, a swank beachfront property next to Gurney’s Inn that has Robert De Niro as a neighbor, according to a source in the bidding process.

The interest in the East End oceanfront property comes after the Securities and Exchange Commission charged an Old Westbury financial adviser, Brian Callahan, with allegedly funneling some of his investors’ $75 million to keep the resort afloat. The resort is owned by his brother-in-law Adam Manson’s Distinctive Ventures.

Sources said there are three bids on the table, and all are close to $55 million. It’s prime Montauk real estate. The property comprises 55 hotel rooms, 20 new luxury units/condos and three beach houses.

On Tuesday, Manson’s attorney, Andrew Frisch, requested in a filing that a hearing be held on the proposed sale by court-appointed receiver Steven Weinberg. That hearing is scheduled for April 2.

But Manson countered: “The property is not even up for sale. We have a fantastic season ahead of us. We have new investors probably joining us and are looking forward to the next phase of renovations at Panoramic. We are finishing plans for the next phase.”

Unfortunately for Manson, Frisch’s filing confirms that there are three entities looking at the hotel, and one of them is cited.

Kept Hotels has put in a bid of $54 million, according to the filing.

Callahan is still awaiting trial in federal court in Islip. –Julie Earle-Levine

A spirited story

Few new businesses have the startup story of Ken Austin, the creator of luxury tequila brand Avion.

First, Austin says, a chance poker game with Warren Buffett propelled his dream of launching his own brand of tequila into action.

As the two played as part of a group tournament in Las Vegas, Buffett was intrigued that there wasn’t any No. 2 in the ultra-premium tequila category (No. 1 being Tres-Quatro-Cinco), giving Austin, a former chief of Marquis Jets, the push that he needed to set about putting his idea into production.

When Austin went to choose the distillery in Mexico to execute his creation, the Lopez family mentioned they had Buffett connections.

Austin says that they told him of a side business that they had, manufacturing shoes for a company that was owned by the Oracle of Omaha’s Berkshire Hathaway.

Helping him along the way was a chance hot-tub meeting with “Entourage” creator Doug Ellin.

He listened to Austin’s tequila story and decided to weave it into the show’s story line, giving posse member Turtle an avenue to making it big when the brand gets bought.

The name recognition from the TV show helped push Avion onto shelves across the country and led to Pernod Ricard taking a minority stake in the 3-year-old brand.

The label just launched an espresso-flavored tequila this month.

We predict Austin will be getting a call from Starbucks’ Howard Schultz any day, the way this tale is going. –Claire Atkinson

Sky-high Down Under

Apple execs are being grilled to explain why Rihanna’s new album, “Unapologetic,” costs 50 percent more on iTunes in Australia than in the US.

Microsoft and Adobe Systems are also said to be booking flights to Canberra, as Australian lawmakers threatened contempt proceedings if they do not appear.

Computer products in Australia sell for more than 50 percent higher than in the US, a 2012 survey by a consumer advocacy group found.

“There’s been price discrimination against Australian consumers,” said Matthew Rimmer, a professor at Australian National University in Canberra who specializes in copyright law. “If the distribution is digital, why are the prices so much higher?”

Rihanna’s album costs $23.98 in the Australian iTunes store, compared with the $15.99 that fans in the US pay. Bruno Mars’ “Unorthodox Jukebox,” in the Top 10 of both nation’s charts, costs 42 percent more there.–Post staff

On the bright side . . .

Normally, On the Money ignores esoteric trade publications, but this one hit us right between the eyes.

A magazine devoted to corporate investor relations awarded Jamie Dimon’s JPMorgan Chase’s investor relations deparment top prize for its handling of the “London Whale” trade.

That should smooth feathers on the $6.2 billion trading loss registered by the bank.
–Post staff