Business

Morgans urged to sell out

It’s baptism by fire for the new board of Morgans Hotel.

A shareholder in the 13-unit hotel chain is expected today to urge the newbie board — on the job for less than a week — to put the company on the block, The Post has learned.

Manhattan hedge fund Kerrisdale Capital will also announce it has amassed a 4.3 percent stake in Morgans, owner of the Mondrian Soho and the Delano in Miami’s South Beach.

“Our belief is that the vast majority of shareholders want this company sold,” Sahm Adrangi, head of the $225 million hedge fund, told The Post when called about the letter.

“We’re open to another vision, but that vision has to be articulated,” he said.

On Friday, a group led by Morgan’s largest shareholder, OTK Associates, overthrew Morgan’s board.

The previous board, including billionaire investor Ron Burkle, had sought to stave off shareholder unrest by promising to pursue a sale of the company.

The company said it had received an offer for $7.50 a share, as well as nine “expressions of interest” from strategic investors.

Michael Olshan, an OTK founder, has largely kept mum about the new board’s plan for dealing with the swarm of interested buyers.

A spokesman for OTK declined to comment, as did a spokesman for Morgans.

Burkle, who is backing a sale, is expected to return to the board because his Yucaipa Cos. is a large creditor of Morgans.

kwhitehouse@nypost.com