New York's Plaza Hotel sold to Sahara for $570 mln

A member of the ''white glove'' hotel staff stands at attention in the lobby of ''The Plaza'' a landmark hotel as it reopens following extensive renovations in New York March 1, 2008.

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Sahara Group has agreed to buy a controlling stake in New York's landmark Plaza Hotel for $570 million, Elad Properties, an Israeli-owned real estate company, said on Monday.

The 105-year-old luxury hotel overlooking New York's Central Park, is jointly owned by Elad Properties, an Israeli-owned real estate company, and Saudi-based Kingdom Holdings Co.

Elad, controlled by Israeli businessman Yitzhak Tshuva, said it would receive 1.6 billion shekels for its 60 percent stake, while Kingdom will receive the rest.

Kingdom, the investment vehicle of Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, will hold a 25 percent stake once the deal is completed, Elad said in a statement.

Elad said Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc, which has managed the hotel since 1999 and which is owned by the Saudi prince, will continue to operate the property.

Tshuva bought the hotel eight years ago for $675 million.

According to media reports, Elad had sold luxury apartments in the renovated hotel for $1.5 billion. The sale of the apartments alone netted Elad Group $500 million in profit.

$1=4.05 shekels

(Reporting by Steven Scheer and Tova Cohen; editing by Sofina Mirza-Reid)