The Plaza hotel is about to be sold — again.
India’s ambitious Sahara Group conglomerate is in advanced, exclusive negotiations to buy the legendary luxury hotel from its Israeli owners, Indian media reported.
The price tag is expected to be about $600 million for the building made famous in numerous movies, the play “Plaza Suite” and the “Eloise” books.
Sahara has paid a 10 percent down payment for the 105-year-old landmark, The Economic Times said.
The deal breaks down as $400 million for the hotel part — 100 condo rooms and 130 large-size non-condo rooms — and another $200 million for the premium retail space in its underground mall.
Sahara’s founder, Subrata Roy — who owns large amounts of real estate, a hospital, a five-star Mumbai hotel, a top-rated cricket team and TV channels in India — made an all-cash offer through a Mauritius-based subsidiary, Aamby Valley, according to the India Times.
Officials at The Plaza refused to comment.
The sale would be the sixth for The Plaza, whose previous owners have included hotel king Conrad Hilton and Donald Trump.
It has been sold three times since 1995, most recently in 2004 to the Manhattan-based El Ad Properties for $675 million.
El Ad, which is controlled by Israeli billionaire Yitzhak Tshuva, temporarily closed The Plaza for some $300 million in major renovations and condominium conversions. It was reopened in 2008.
The Plaza and its condo units are managed by Fairmont Hotels, but if the sale goes through, that arrangement would be terminated, Sahara told El Ad, according to India Times.
It’s not clear whether Sahara would manage the property itself or bring in someone else.
The Plaza is not the most expensive jewel in Sahara’s holdings.
The firm plunked down a cool $726 million for London’s Grosvenor House hotel in 2010 and also made a bid for the Marriott chain’s hotels in Britain.
