NEW YORK- More than a year after it was put on the block, the Carlyle Hotel here waits for a buyer, according to a report in The New York Times.
The article said that one potential deal to acquire the high-end hotel has stalled, and that negotiations are still underway with three potential buyers. It has been said that one potential buyer is the Tata Group, a privately held Indian communications, manufacturing and service-industry company. Other sources have hinted that German-based Kempinski Hotels could also be interested in the 70-year-old property, located at 35 East 76th Street.
Real estate brokers following the deal said that the 180-room Carlyle Hotel could command at least $100 million (or more than $500,000 per unit) because of its location, history and devoted clientele. However, Norman Peck, managing partner of the hotel said in June that the hotel would not sell for less than the Four Seasons Hotel, which in 1999 was sold to Ty Warner for $275 million (about $750,000 per room). A cost of $750,000 per room would put the Carlyles asking price at about $130 million.
It is believed that the sticking point in the lagging talks is the Carlyles unusual ownership structure, a cooperative. Potential owners must buy controlling shares in the cooperative rather than buying the title to the buildings and the land.
Over the last year, other names mentioned as being interested in the Carlyle include Orient-Express Hotels and Rosewood Hotels. (10/31/00)