The next “suite” New York City hotel deal may be ready to check in.
Morgans Hotel Group in recent weeks has started a formal sales process for the 928-room Hudson Hotel on Columbus Circle and is hoping to fetch a nifty $500 million for the Ian Schrager-developed property, The Post has learned.
Morgans is also looking to sell its 194-room Art Deco-style Delano South Beach hotel in Miami for $200 million, sources said.
The moves to sell the two properties are a departure from the company’s earlier plan to sell the entire company — but only after management awakened a somnambulate stock.
Morgans had announced on May 13 it had retained Morgan Stanley to explore a full range of strategic alternatives — a move that sent Morgans’ shares up 3.5 percent, to $8.07.
“This is a real mandate, where before they were selling in fits and starts,” a source close to the situation said of the recent move to peddle the two hotels.
The timing seems to be perfect. Interest in Big Apple hotels is running high — as witnessed by Hilton Hotels’ Monday sale of its Waldorf Astoria for a record $1.95 billion.
The move in May by Morgans to explore strategic alternatives helped CEO Jason Kalisman maintain control of the company’s board over a Ron Burkle-supported slate that was pushing for a quick company sale.
Kalisman, the 35-year-old grandson of real-estate developer Alfred Taubman, survived the proxy fight, but was faced with a more independent board.
While Morgans is looking to unload the two hotels, Kalisman wants to maintain its management of the properties, a source who recently looked at buying the hotels told The Post, as part of a plan to grow a hotel management company.
That makes a foreign company the most likely buyer, a source said, since most domestic hotel operators would want to run them as well. Hilton inked a similar management deal in selling the Waldorf Astoria.
Morgans would still consider a full company sale at the right price, a source said.
Morgans declined to comment.
The shares closed Tuesday at $7.85, down 0.9 percent.