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Fuller explores buy of Standard High Line Hotel

Simon Fuller may be poised to add another shiny asset to his entertainment conglomerate: The Standard High Line NYC Hotel.

The Meatpacking District jewel is in the midst of being sold to a group that appears to be led by Steven L. Kantor’s S2K Partners that includes Fuller for around $450 million, or roughly $1.3 million per room key, The Post has learned.

Kantor has long been a fan of Fuller. Before Kantor left Cantor Fitzgerald, where he was global head of investment banking, he wanted the independent brokerage to invest in Fuller’s latest venture, XIX Entertainment. S2K now has a stake in XIX.

Fuller, the celebrity behind “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance,” is a behind-the-scenes investor so far. The group, which may bring in another hotelier or brand, is expected to buy and reflag the 848 Washington St. hotel, sources said.

Kantor insisted he was “not buying the hotel” because he’s “not a hotel guy” but is “investing in brand content.”

Designed by Polshek Partnership Architects (now Ennead Architects), the 18-story hotel straddling the High Line is being sold by its developer, Andre Balazs, along with Dune Capital Management and Greenfield Partners.

Their investment broker, Douglas Harmon of Eastdil Secured, who previously sold the Chelsea Hotel as well as the nearby Google building at 111 Eighth Ave., Milk Studios and the Chelsea Market, flatly refused to discuss the possible purchasers or any specifics of what is still a pending transaction.

Harmon did acknowledge, however, that “what makes the Standard’s future so incredibly attractive is its waterfront location at the intersection of the new Whitney Museum, designed by Renzo Piano, and the High Line’s main entrance.

“No matter what it is re-named, the hotel itself will remain an ongoing draw for the world’s visitors.”

The S2K group is said to have outmaneuvered heavyweight contenders, including Richard Branson’s Virgin Hotels, as well as both Asian and Middle Easterners who want to build stakes in the city’s sleepover market.

“New York is the capital of the world and an incredible amount of foreign capital is chasing yield, and frankly in their minds, New York is the United States,” said Daniel Lesser of LW Hospitality Advisors, who is not involved in the transaction.

A new brand is just what the hotel doctor ordered. Balazs, who owns several other Standards, including one on the East Side, is retaining the Standard moniker, leaving its most famous hotel nameless and without a management contract. That can make it more valuable than if it were sold with those in place, Lesser said.

Some of that buzz was created right out of the box as The Post reported many of its randier guests were both nude and naughty in front of the floor-to-ceiling, non-reflective picture windows as co-op owners and High Line users gawked.

While the price tag seems high, it is in line with prices for other ultra-chic hotels as room rates now average around $250 a night citywide.

Occupancy is also moving toward the 90 percent mark along with global tourism.

Since it opened in 2009, the hotel has become a party and event mecca for the world’s A-list celebrity set.

The other parties did not respond to emailed requests for comment over the weekend.