The real estate investment trust that owns New York City’s Knickerbocker and Royalton Hotels is considering selling the company.
Texas-based Felcor Lodging Trust, which controls around 36 high-end hotels across the country, is talking with possible buyers, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources. These talks are in the early stages, according to the paper, and a sale is not certain.
As of Wednesday afternoon, FelCor was valued at around $1 billion, but one activist investor told the Journal the company’s properties were collectively worth roughly $1.5 billion. FelCor has more than $1 billion in debt.
In 2011, FelCor agreed to buy the Morgans and Royalton hotels from Morgans Hotel Group [TRDataCustom] for $140 million in cash.
The same year, the company acquired a 95 percent stake in the top 14 floors of the 330-key Knickerbocker hotel for $109 million. The company spent $240 million renovating the hotel, which opened in February 2015.
Felcor has already stated it is considering selling some of its assets, including the New York properties, according to the Journal. [WSJ] — Miriam Hall