The interim CEO of the Morgans Hotel Group is looking to quietly refinance the Hudson Hotel in the Columbus Circle area and push Ron Burkle, who currently owns Morgans debt and preferred shares, out of the group.
Jason Taubman Kalisman — who took over in September after Michael Gross resigned — intends to sell off Morgans’ Delano South Beach hotel and use the sale proceeds to pay off Burkle, the New York Post reported. Morgans reckons the Ian Schrager-designed Hudson Hotel is worth about $850 million, which allows the group to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars in secured loans against it, a source told the newspaper.
Burkle, however, wants Morgans to seek a buyer for the group, as he believes its 12 hotels are more valuable than its $766 million enterprise value. A spokesperson for Burke declined to comment to the Post, and Burkle couldn’t be reached for comment by the newspaper. [NYP] – Hiten Samtani