Boutique hotelier Morgans Hotel Group will sell its 90%
interest in the Light Group, a nightclub and restaurant operator, to competitor
Hakkasan Group for $36 million. The deal is expected to close in January.
Morgans acquired its 90% stake in the Light Group in 2011 for
about $46 million.
Under terms of the
agreement, Morgans will take back control of food-and-beverage operations at
the Delano South Beach. Morgans will also retain leasehold interests in three
restaurants at the Mandalay Bay hotel-entertainment complex in Las Vegas. The
restaurants will continue to be managed by the Light Group.
The Light Group operates 22 clubs and restaurants, most of
them in Las Vegas. Hakkasan Group has more than 30 clubs and restaurants, with five
in Las Vegas and another, the Omnia nightclub, due to open in the spring at
Caesars Palace. Hakkasan is the company’s largest brand, with 12 restaurants
and one nightclub.
Hakkasan Group also is in the hotel business, having formed
a joint venture with MGM Resorts last April to design, develop and operate
non-gaming hotels under the Bellagio, Hakkasan, MGM Grand and Skylofts brands.