Embattled REIT seeks to auction SoCal hotels, Queen Mary lease

A hospitality-focused real estate investment trust is looking to auction off some of its corporate holdings as part of its bankruptcy filing, including a 66-year lease on the Queen Mary cruise ship and several hotels. The ocean liner, converted into a hotel, is docked in Long Beach.

Singapore-based Eagle Hospitality Trust filed the auction motion Tuesday in bankruptcy court in Delaware, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. In its filing, Eagle noted that New York-based Monarch Alternative Capital bid $470 million for the REIT’s entities that own or run 15 hotels nationwide. Those include the Queen Mary, two Anaheim properties and the Sheraton Pasadena, the report noted.

Monarch’s bid would be the minimum offer in an auction if the court approves the motion. The City of Long Beach will still own the Queen Mary no matter what happens with Eagle’s bankruptcy and potential auction.

In October, authorities in Singapore arrested several current and former high-ranking Eagle executives for allegedly failing to make certain disclosures to investors.

Eagle oversees several companies, including Urban Commons, which operates the Queen Mary and several U.S. hotels. In 2017, Urban Commons proposed a $250 million overhaul plan of the massive ocean liner, which would be used for badly-needed repairs.

A month before the October arrests, Eagle terminated 18 master leases with Urban Commons, including the one on the Queen Mary. That effectively gave Eagle control of the converted ship and those properties.

[LADN] — Dennis Lynch