A NYC hotel is being sold for $1.95 billion. The Waldorf-Astoria was created in 2007 and the owners of the hotel will get a good chunk of change after their sell.
The Waldorf-Astoria is located between 49th and 50th streets, which is surrounded by Park and Lexington avenues. A Chinese insurance company has bought the property for $1.95 billion from Hilton Worldwide, which owns a chain of the Waldorf-Astoria hotels.
The buyer, Anbang Insurance Group, plans a renovation of the hotel on Park Avenue, to restore the 47-story tower to its Art Deco grandeur, according to the New York Times.
President Herbert Hoover described the 1931 opening of the Waldorf-Astoria as "an event in the advancement of hotels, even in New York City," according to the Times.
Hilton, which owns, controls or franchises more than 4,200 properties, will continue to operate the 1,413-room hotel under a 100-year management contract with Anbang, but will make some cash on this big sell.
"The Chinese have money to spend and the inclination to do so," Sean Hennessey, chief executive of Lodging Advisors, which was not involved in the deal, told the Times. "The property will continue to be an iconic hotel even if it's owned by a foreign entity."
There are other properties of the hotel in Amsterdam, Beijing, Dubai, Jerusalem, Ras Al Khaimah and Shanghai.
"This relationship represents a unique opportunity for our organizations to work together to finally maximize the full value of this iconic asset on a full city block in Midtown Manhattan," Christopher J. Nassetta, president and chief executive of Hilton Worldwide, said in a statement released on Monday morning.
