The fiercest battle in Brooklyn real estate is nearing an end. EOS Investors has emerged as the stalking horse and potential winning bidder for the William Vale Hotel.
The firm has bid $177 million to acquire the marquee hotel through bankruptcy court. A stalking-horse bid sets the floor for bidding. If a sale closes, it would end the years-long saga for control of the posh Williamsburg property.
The hotel and office complex was the center of a feud between one-time Brooklyn mega-landlord Yoel Goldman and his former partner Zelig Weiss.
Their partnership started to collapse around 2016. Things got complicated when Goldman’s former company, All Year Holdings, filed for bankruptcy in 2021. Weiss and Goldman jointly owned the hotel and ground lease.
Weiss attempted to buy the hotel, but never closed on a deal. He also tried to block a sale to another bidder.
After years of legal battles, Weiss made a surprising move to exit the hotel’s lease. That allowed an All Year affiliate to sell the entire hotel and ended Weiss’s control of its operations.
To some observers’ surprise, since last fall, Weiss has not tried to acquire the property through bankruptcy court.
Brokers from Eastdil Secured and A&G Realty listed the property and 180 investors signed non-disclosure agreements to enter the data room and evaluate the hotel. In January, an affiliate of EOS Investors submitted its bid.
“After a fair and comprehensive process, the potential buyer is one of the largest national players in the hotel investment and management space,” the All Year affiliate said in a statement.
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The initial bid price would be enough to pay off all the hotel’s creditors, including Israeli bondholders. Weiss could receive some proceeds after the creditors are repaid.
New York-based EOS is an active player in the hospitality space. It oversees over $1.2 billion of assets under management and owns L’Ermitage in Beverly Hills.