SBE Entertainment to Buy Morgans Hotel Group for $82 Million
Photo Credit: 10 Karakoy, a Morgans Original, in Istanbul. Morgans Hotel Group
Skift Take
Can these two companies--one with a somewhat questionable track record and the other, whose star has lost its luster--work together to relive their glory days? We'll see.
After a lengthy battle that already included one failed attempt, Sam Nazarian's privately owned SBE Entertainment Group, which includes the SLS Hotels brand, has finally won its bid to acquire New York-based Morgans Hotel Group Co. for $82 million, paying $2.25 per share in cash for the outstanding shares of Morgans Hotel Group.
Nazarian will serve as CEO of the combined company and handle day-to-day management responsibilities. The deal includes the purchase of all of Morgans' brands, as well as buying Morgans' three owned properties (The Delano South Beach, Hudson Hotel in New York, and the Clift Hotel in San Francisco).
Together, the combined company will have 20 hotels and the Morgans transaction is worth an estimated $794 million. The acquisition is expected to close in the third or fourth quarter of this year, following regulatory and shareholder approvals. Under this agreement, Morgans shareholders representing 29 percent of the company's outstanding shares of common sto
