A merger between two major firms that have had a major presence in West Hollywood appears to have collapsed.
Those firms are Morgans Hotel Group, whose properties include the Mondrian hotel on Sunset Boulevard, and SBE Entertainment, which until recently owned the Abbey nightclub and restaurant on Robertson Boulevard. SBE’s worldwide portfolio also includes the restaurants such as The Bazaar, Cleo and Katsuya in and around Los Angeles.
According to a story in the Wall Street Journal, the merger would have created a company called SBE-Morgans and Nazarian would have become its CEO. SBE-Morgans would have had a market capitalization of $260 million.
But the Journal said the merger fell apart because of differences of opinion between Ron Burkle, the Beverly Hills-based owner of Yucaipa Companies and Jason Kalisman, a member of the Morgans board and manager of Morgans’ large shareholder.
That lays one West Hollywood-related real estate rumor to rest. Still floating out there are many others about properties in Boystown, none of which WEHOville has been able to confirm:
— Will Pat Rogers sell his Here Lounge to David Cooley, owner of the The Abbey next door?
— Is there a reason that the word “Cooleys” is no longer on the facade of the space under construction at 8934-8940 Santa Monica Blvd. Cooley’s, billed as a “gastro pub,” was supposed to have opened last summer. David Cooley was able to extract important concessions from the city that would allow him, or the new owner, to have outside patios facing Santa Monica Boulevard and also West Hollywood Park.
— Is it true that Lisa Vanderpump, who owns P.U.M.P. on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Robertson, is interested in acquiring Cooleys (and also that she wants to acquire the space east of Cooleys formerly occupied by Chi Chi LaRue)?
Inquiring minds want to know.
I would be scared to death to work for SBE right now. The past few years have been so tough for the company with far more failures than successes.
Kicked out of SLS project near LIVE (now The Grand)
SLS Bahams Del Mar hotel being built but never opening due to development bankruptcy
SLS Las Vegas mega failure (countless things to list here)
The ONE group backing out of the Cleo and Katsuya deal
The worst of all the failed Morgans bid which wold have injected much needed capital and put it on the stock market.
RUMORS? THIS BLOG HAS JUST CREATED A FEW NEW RUMORS ….. WHEN THE BLOG IS PRIVY TO ALL WEHO CITY PLANS BEFORE MADE PUBLIC … AND HAVE THE EAR OF THE CITY AND ACTS AS THE MOUTH FOR THE CITY’s COVER UP OF WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OUT OF CONTROL GROWTH GOING ON. NOTE; THERE WILL BE ON TV AN ACTUAL FILMED NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN LARRY FLINT AND THE DEVELOPER WHO “TALKED HIM IN TO SELLING THE “HUSTLER” BUILDING AND LOT – FOR YET ANOTHER NEW HOTEL ON SUNSET. MILLION DOLLAR LISTING L.A. – ON BRAVO – will this weeks… Read more »
Good move by Starbucks if it’s true. The Pavilion site doesn’t have scary traffic speeding directly toward it as their current site does.
Would love it if someone could get the answers to those questions! =) What in the heck is going on with Cooley’s?! He got his permits a year ago and just recently said that he hopes to be open by next year’s Pride..at that construction would take 7 months..so he’s better get things moving..that is if he’s still moving forward with it after all this time. I heard the other day that the Starbucks on the corner of SM and Robertson is moving to the corner just west of them …at the Pavilions group of strip stores..just behind the fountain.… Read more »
Pump has leased the old chi chi store and subletting to showtime.