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The Plaza Hotel, once the much-touted crown jewel of Donald Trump’s New York real estate empire, may soon trade hands.
A member of the Saudi royal family and a London-based investment firm called 3 Associates Capital Management are working on a deal to buy the iconic hotel for $352M, according to the New York Post.
The sale would close a chapter in the storied hotel’s history that has included a default on a mortgage by its majority owner, an Indian firm led by Subrata Roy, who is incarcerated for defrauding investors.
The 557k SF hotel was to be put up for auction this spring.
It did not materialize because billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben, who became stewards of the hotel’s debt when they bought it from Bank of China, pulled the plug on the auction in order to give the borrower more time to pay back its debt.
If the reported deal goes through, it would be the second time Saudi royalty owned the Plaza. Prince Alwaleed bin-Talal was the buyer when The Donald sold the property in 1988. [NYP]
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