Morgans Group mulls $440M sale of the Hudson Hotel

Interim CEO Kalisman looking for ways to hike company's stock price

From left: Jason Taubman Kalisman, Hudson Hotel and Ron Burkle
From left: Jason Taubman Kalisman, Hudson Hotel and Ron Burkle

Morgans Hotel Group could be putting the Hudson Hotel up for sale.

The sale is one of several options to boost Morgans’ share price, Jason Taubman Kalisman, interim CEO, told shareholders last month.

The group expects that the Ian-Schrager-designed hotel would go for about $440 million, sources told the New York Post. Morgans would also offload the Delano South Beach hotel for roughly $200 million.

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The new board of directors has not decided whether to pursue a sale of the two properties, a source told the Post.

If Morgans did go through with a sale, the proceeds would likely be used to pay off the convertible debt held by Ron Burkle, who has feuded with Kalisman throughout the past months and favored a sale of Morgans. Last year, Kalisman considered selling off the Delano to buy out Burkle.

Kalisman is also considering a merger of Morgans with Highgate Holdings, whose CEO, Mahmood Khimji, sits on Morgans’s board, according to the Post. Last year Highgate was part of groups that purchased the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel for $660 million and 650 Madison Avenue for $1.3 billion.

In the case of a merger, the Post’s sources say Khimji would become Morgans’s new CEO. [NYP]Tom DiChristopher

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