Morgans to test investor appetite for luxe hotels
Reuters - Morgans Hotel Group Co., which operates posh hotels in New York, Miami and London, this week will test investor interest in luxury lodging.
The company, which operates properties under such names as Delano, Mondrian and Royalton, is planning a share offering worth $360 million based on the midpoint of its price forecast.
It plans to use the proceeds to fund expansion, most immediately into Las Vegas and Scottsdale, Arizona, and later into other U.S. and European markets, company officials said at a road show presentation to investors.
“We have a portfolio of very well known brands that we’ve never really utilized, and our new strategy is to take that to the next level and capture the markets we can,” Chief Executive Ed Scheetz said in the presentation, which was broadcast on the Web.
“We don’t have to go to secondary markets. We don’t have to go to far flung places to expand. Our expansion can be very measured, can be very focused,” Scheetz said.