The Aztec Fund Holding: Office Liquidation and BANA Settlement

The Aztec Fund Holding, Inc., a Mexico City-based private equity group that owned and operated commercial office buildings across five U.S. states, filed chapter 11 in the Southern District of Texas on August 5, 2024. The filing followed sustained vacancy pressure across the portfolio after the pandemic-era shift to remote work, the loss of anchor tenants at multiple properties, and a breakdown in the debtors' workout negotiations with Bank of America, N.A., the primary secured lender. BANA had already foreclosed on five of the debtors' properties in May 2024 before the petition date, leaving only four office buildings and one undeveloped land parcel in the estate.

The case proceeded as a liquidation rather than an operating reorganization. The debtors proposed selling their remaining office properties — Bowie Corporate Center in Maryland, Mark Center in Virginia, and Windward Oaks in Georgia — to satisfy BANA's secured claim, with BANA retaining credit-bid rights if no qualified third-party bids materialized. Judge Christopher M. Lopez confirmed the joint chapter 11 plan of liquidation on June 13, 2025, and the plan went effective on June 30, 2025. The court entered a final decree closing all twelve jointly administered cases on February 17, 2026.

Debtor(s)	The Aztec Fund Holding, Inc. (12 jointly administered entities)
Court	U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Texas (Houston Division)
Case Number	24-90436
Petition Date	August 5, 2024
Confirmation Date	June 13, 2025
Judge	Hon. Christopher M. Lopez

Company and Portfolio Background

The Aztec Fund enterprise was structured through two Delaware parent corporations — The Aztec Fund Holding, Inc. and Aztec OME Holdings, Inc. — which held property-level subsidiaries across Texas, Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, and Colorado. TAF Holding was wholly owned by US TAF S.A.P.I. de C.V., itself owned by a Mexican trust (The Aztec Fund F/2356 Banco INVEX). OME Holdings was owned by TAF OME S.A.P.I. de C.V. (held through a separate Banco INVEX trust) and Fenicia International, LP, a Canadian entity. Charles Haddad, who had approximately 30 years of experience in commercial real estate investment, served as president of each of the twelve debtor entities.

The debtors did not have direct employees. Management, accounting, finance, and property-management functions were provided through affiliated Mexican entities, CFG Administración GP, S.A. de C.V. and OME GP, S.A. de C.V., with property-level operational support from Hines. The First Day Declaration identifies a portfolio totaling nearly 630,000 square feet of office space across the following properties:

• 5775 DTC Boulevard — Greenwood Village, Colorado (35% occupancy at filing)
• Windward Oaks I & II — Alpharetta, Georgia (96% occupancy)
• Mark Center — Alexandria, Virginia (100% occupancy)
• Bowie Corporate Center — Bowie, Maryland (100% occupancy)
• Pinnacle Park Land — Dallas, Texas (5.5-acre undeveloped parcel)

Several additional properties — Royal Tech, Intellicenter, Lake Vista III & IV, Lakeside II, and the Pinnacle Park office building — had already been lost to BANA foreclosure before the petition date.

Pre-Filing Distress and Lender Breakdown

The First Day Declaration ties the filing to the sustained impact of COVID-19 and the work-from-home shift on commercial office demand. Anchor tenants vacated Pinnacle Park in 2022 and Royal Tech in 2021, and the DTC property in Colorado had declined to 35% occupancy. Rising floating-rate debt service made certain properties unprofitable.

The debtors owed Bank of America approximately $114.3 million at the time of filing under a loan agreement originally totaling $202.25 million, secured by deeds of trust, assignments of leases and rents, and liens on bank accounts. The broader capital stack also included about $45 million of unsecured debt from Aztec Fund trusts and roughly $9.8 million from Fenicia International, LP.

BANA issued notices of default and acceleration on February 21, 2024, followed by a notice of intent to pursue foreclosure on all borrower properties on March 21, 2024. On May 7, 2024, BANA foreclosed on five properties — Royal Tech, Intellicenter, Lake Vista, Pinnacle Park (the office building), and Lakeside — through a total credit bid of $77.34 million, with Royal Tech transferring to a third party. BANA also notified OME Windward of its intent to foreclose on Windward Oaks in early August 2024. The debtors had previously entered into forbearance agreements with BANA in July and December 2023, but those arrangements did not resolve the defaults. In the weeks before filing, the debtors retained Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, Getzler Henrich & Associates, and Hilco Real Estate Appraisal to negotiate with BANA and prepare for chapter 11 on a dual-track basis.

Cash Collateral and Budget Controls

The case proceeded on a cash-collateral path rather than a new-money DIP facility. The final cash collateral order authorized continued use of BANA cash collateral subject to a 13-week budget with variance testing: 10% unfavorable variance on cumulative monthly receipts and 15% unfavorable variance on cumulative monthly operating disbursements. Management and professional fees had no unfavorable-variance allowance.

BANA received a superpriority section 507(b) claim, adequate-protection liens on Pinnacle Park Land and other unencumbered assets, monthly interest at Daily SOFR plus 225 basis points, and $35,000 per month for BANA's attorneys' fees. The order also imposed carve-out mechanics covering U.S. Trustee and clerk fees, a potential trustee cap, and a professional-fee carve-out that would tighten after a carve-out trigger notice. Sale proceeds from Pinnacle Park Land were part of BANA's adequate-protection package and could not be used or distributed without BANA consent or further court order.

Asset Sales and Property Dispositions

The debtors entered the case with plans to sell both the DTC property in Colorado and the Pinnacle Park Land parcel in Texas. CBRE was engaged to market the DTC property, which ultimately sold for $4.525 million. The debtors had previously negotiated a combined sale of the Pinnacle Park office building and land for $13 million, but BANA's foreclosure on the office building disrupted that transaction.

The court approved the sale of Pinnacle Park Land to Farmer Group, LLC for $3.3 million on January 13, 2025. The order required a $250,000 earnest-money deposit, treated $100 of that deposit as independent consideration, and required the purchase-price balance by wire at closing. The sale was approved free and clear of liens under section 363, with liens attaching to net sale proceeds at the same validity and priority they had against the property. Those net proceeds were required to go into a collateral or deposit account and were not distributable absent BANA consent or further court order.

The plan and disclosure statement filed in March 2025 proposed selling the three remaining office buildings — Bowie Corporate Center, Mark Center, and Windward Oaks — to satisfy BANA's secured claim. If no qualified third-party bids materialized for a property, BANA could elect to receive it through a credit bid or have the automatic stay lifted to foreclose under state law. The Westway Equity interest was auctioned separately, with US TAF S.A.P.I. de C.V. serving as the stalking-horse bidder at $20,000.

Plan of Liquidation and Creditor Recoveries

The plan of liquidation vested post-effective-date control in a plan administrator charged with winding down the debtors, handling claims reconciliation, funding the professional-fee escrow, and pursuing or settling causes of action. The plan administrator was required to consult with BANA regarding the pursuit of causes of action, and BANA could direct the administrator to cease pursuing actions deemed not cost-effective.

BANA's total secured claim was projected not to exceed approximately $108 million on the effective date. Estimated recoveries varied by entity:

Entity	BANA Recovery	GUC Recovery	Equity Recovery
TAF Holdco	~60%	<1%	0%
OME Holdco	~70%	<1%	0%
OME Bowie	~21%	0%	0%
OME Mark Center	~61%	0%	0%
OME Windward	~11%	0%	0%
Other Debtors	<1%	0%	0%

The plan included debtor releases, exculpation provisions, and injunction language. General unsecured creditors outside the holding-company structure were projected to receive no recovery, and equity interests were generally canceled.

Confirmation and Wind-Down

The court confirmed the joint chapter 11 plan of liquidation on June 13, 2025, following a contested confirmation hearing where the debtors defended the plan against BANA's characterization of the projections as overly optimistic. The confirmation order appointed John D. Baumgartner of Getzler Henrich as plan administrator and directed him to manage the wind-down reserve with quarterly reporting for the post-effective-date debtors.

The effective date notice confirmed that the plan became effective and was substantially consummated on June 30, 2025. The notice set July 31, 2025 as the administrative-claims and rejection-claims bar date and August 14, 2025 as the deadline for final professional fee applications.

One contested matter arose after the effective date. NuTech HVAC and Plumbing asserted an $84,876 claim entitled to administrative priority under section 503(b)(9). The post-effective-date debtors objected, arguing the claim arose from emergency repair services rather than goods sold in the ordinary course of business. The objection was sustained, and the claim was reclassified as a general unsecured claim.

The post-effective-date debtors moved for entry of a final decree on January 5, 2026, and the court entered the decree on February 17, 2026, closing all twelve jointly administered cases. The decree preserved claim-dispute rights under the plan and confirmation order and left parties free to seek reopening for cause under section 350(b).

Professional Fees

Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, as counsel for the debtors and debtors in possession, sought final fees of $1.77 million and expenses of $48,174 for the period August 5, 2024 through June 30, 2025. The largest work category was plan and disclosure statement work at $977,676, followed by asset disposition work at $397,991.

Getzler Henrich & Associates, as financial advisor, sought final fees of $971,573 and expenses of $4,879 for the same period. Its largest work categories included plan and disclosure statement work at $308,248, reporting at $250,500, and financing and cash collateral work at $86,008.

Hilco Real Estate Appraisal also filed a final fee application in August 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened to The Aztec Fund Holding?

The Aztec Fund Holding, Inc. and eleven affiliated entities filed chapter 11 petitions on August 5, 2024. The court confirmed a joint plan of liquidation on June 13, 2025, and all twelve cases were closed by final decree on February 17, 2026.

Why did Aztec Fund file for bankruptcy?

The First Day Declaration attributes the filing to sustained office vacancy pressure after the pandemic, the loss of anchor tenants at multiple properties, rising floating-rate debt service, and a breakdown in workout negotiations with Bank of America after the lender foreclosed on five properties in May 2024.

What properties did Aztec Fund own?

At filing, the debtors held four office buildings — 5775 DTC Boulevard in Colorado, Windward Oaks in Georgia, Mark Center in Virginia, and Bowie Corporate Center in Maryland — plus the Pinnacle Park Land parcel in Texas. Five additional properties had already been lost to BANA foreclosure before the petition date.

Who is the claims agent for The Aztec Fund Holding?

Stretto serves as the claims and noticing agent. The firm maintains the official claims register and distributes case notifications to creditors and parties in interest.

For more bankruptcy case coverage, visit our chapter 11 blog.