Plaza Hotel headed for sales block

Sahara India Pariwar, the majority owner of New York’s Plaza Hotel, is renewing efforts to find a buyer for the chateaulike property on Central Park following the recent sale of a minority stake in the building.

Sahara, based in Lucknow, India, has hired brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle to handle the sales process. “We do have the listing for the Plaza,” said Jeff Davis, in- ternational director at JLL, who heads the New York office of the firm’s hotels and hospitality group. He declined to comment further.

The sales process comes after Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. acquired a stake in the hotel, giving it certain rights to buy the property, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, who asked not to be iden- tified because the matter is private. Ashkenazy bought its stake from another minority shareholder, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin-Talal, the person said.

Ashkenazy, Sahara India Pariwar and Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding Co. didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. JLL’s hiring was reported earlier Tuesday by the Wall Street Journal.

The current ownership drama, which has been playing out over the past three years, is in keeping with the changes the hotel has seen over its 110-year history.

A previous owner converted part of the Plaza to condominiums. The hotel is managed by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, a unit of France’s Accor SA.