DUBAI, Aug 16 (AFP) - New York's Plaza Hotel, in which Saudi Prince Al-Walid bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz controls a 50 percent stake, is to be sold for 675 million dollars, the Kingdom Holding Company announced.
Plaza Operating Partners Ltd "entered into an agreement with CPS One LLC, an affiliate of El Ad Properties NY LLC, a US property investment company, for the sale of The Plaza hotel, New York," the company, of which the prince is chairman, said in a statement.
The agreement was reached last Thursday and "completion of the transaction is expected to take place later this year," it added.
"We are pleased with the transaction and the buyer's plans for renovating and improving this great hotel. We hope to continue Kingdom's involvement in the Plaza with an investment in the planned work," said the prince, who plans to retain part of his stake in it.
The 19-storey hotel, currently managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts (FHR), was first opened in October 1907 and acquired by the current owners in 1995 for 325 million dollars, the statement said.
The billionaire prince, a nephew of Saudi King Fahd, owns 4.9 percent of shares in FHR and holds stakes in four other Fairmont hotels.