The messy saga of the Plaza Hotel’s ownership might finally be moving towards a positive conclusion. The Saudi royal who has been looking to purchase a majority stake in the hotel, Al-Waleed Bin Talel, is now partnering with Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp to force the current owner, Sahara Group, to sell its stake, the New York Post reports.
A previous partnership between the Saudi royal and the Qatari Investment Authority to purchase the hotel fell through in September last year, according to the Post. The Sahara Group had been hoping to sell its share for $1.5 billion at the time.
The Post doesn’t precisely explain why this particular partnership will work, but sources have told the paper that this development team is close to making a deal with the embattled Sahara Group, whose head is currently in jail, in India, for tax fraud.
These new would-be owners want to revamp the hotel’s 282 rooms, open the Oak Room, the Oak Bar, and the Edwardian room at the hotel.
Al-Waleed Bin Talel through his company Kingdom Holdings already has a 50 percent stake in the hotel’s rooms, restaurants, and retail portion, but is looking to gain a majority stake through this deal, according to the Post.
There have been many almost-deals to solve the sad state of affairs at the Plaza Hotel in recent years, but nothing has quite worked out for one reason or another. Do you think a sale will actually take place this time around?
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