The New York Post on Thursday reported that Saudi Prince Alwaleed has partnered with Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. to force a buyout of New York’s famed Plaza hotel from Sahara India Pariwar’s embattled leader Subrata Roy.
The Post said Ashkenazky, headed by Ben Ashkenazy and Michael Alpert, will purchase a controlling portion of Alwaleed’s pivotal 50% stake in the hotel, which is managed by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. “They are now partners with Prince Alwaleed,” a source said of Ashkenazy and Alpert. “That stake has significant rights including rights to purchase the hotel and its other components.”
They deal would also include the shares of a trust held by Sant Chatwal’s family and Chatwal’s Dream Hotel Management, which manages the Plaza’s food-and-beverage operation. The new owners would also pay off debt on the property held by Swiss investors, the Reuben brothers.
Sources further state Ashkenazy and Alpert want to upgrade both the hotel rooms, reopen the long-dark Oak Room and Oak Bar and turn the lights back on in the Edwardian Room — which was briefly home to Italian designer Angelo Galasso but is now vacant. The spa has also been vacant but is now being built out for the Guerlain spa.
Roy, who had been jailed in India amid allegations that he bilked investors out of billions of dollars, has been trying to sell the Plaza since 2012 but multiple deals have fallen through.