Jason Taubman Kalisman is hoping to check Ron Burkle out of the Morgans Hotel Group.
The interim CEO of the 12-hotel chain is quietly looking to refinance its boutique Hudson Hotel and to sell its Delano South Beach — and to use the proceeds to pay off Burkle, who owns Morgans debt and preferred shares, the Post has learned.
Kalisman’s OTK Associates, Morgans’ largest shareholder, and Burkle’s Yucaipa Cos. have been embroiled in a long-running dispute over control of the publicly traded company.
Morgans believes the Ian Schrager-designed Hudson in the Columbus Circle area is worth roughly $500 million, allowing it to borrow hundreds of millions in secured loans against it, a source close to the process said.
Broker Jones Lang LaSalle started distributing in late September information seeking “maximum available proceeds to refinance the 866-key Hudson Hotel.”
The hotel now has minimal debt.
Kalisman’s goal is to get the Hudson Hotel refinancing done in several weeks.
At the same time, Burkle on Friday sued Morgans in Manhattan state court, accusing the hotel chain of blocking his right to have a Yucaipa nominee at all board meetings.
In the alternative, Burkle is seeking a higher interest rate on his shares.
Speculation is the billionaire is filing the suit to stop Morgans’ secret plans to refinance one hotel and sell another.
Kalisman wants to run the hotel group, licensing the brand name to others for a percentage of revenue, the source said.
Burkle, meanwhile, wants to get Morgans to seek a buyer, believing the sum of its hotels is worth more than its $766 million enterprise value.
Kalisman, the 34-year-old grandson of real estate developer Alfred Taubman, launched a successful proxy battle stopping Morgans from selling the Delano South Beach to Burkle and winning a majority of board seats.
Ultimately, his board replaced a Burkle ally as CEO and allegedly has kept him out of company decisions. Burkle’s team of two to three company executives had been making roughly $10 million for doing nothing, the source said.
“They added no value,” the source added.
Burkle in 2009 invested $75 million in Morgans when it desperately needed money and in return got preferred shares and warrants to buy 12.5 million shares at $6 a share. Morgan presently only has 32.6 million outstanding shares.
Morgans shares rose 0.9 percent Monday to close at $6.83.
In Jones Lang LaSalle’s sales material for the Hudson Hotel refinancing, it points out that the Manhattan hotel market is booming.
“The year- to-date July 2013 statistics for New York indicate that the [Metropolitan area] is poised for another headline year with a 6.8 percent increase in Revenue Per Available Room led by a 2.7 percent increase in occupancy and a 4 percent increase in rate,” the materials said.
About 44 percent of Morgans’ 3,200 rooms are in New York City.
A Morgans spokesman declined comment. Burkle did not return calls.