Renovated Moscow Hotel to open in 2010 under the Four Seasons brand
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The ongoing reconstruction of the Moscow Hotel is slated for completion in 2010, when it is expected to receive its first guests under the Four Seasons Hotels brand. “We now have only the decoration works left, while the engineering system is already in place,” First Moscow Deputy Mayor Vladimir Resin said. “Indeed, some areas, such as the shopping facilities, will be ready by yearend. The new hotel will brighten the capital’s landscape.” However, it is not clear who will complete project, because Nafta-Moskva, the company affiliated with billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, is currently in active negotiation to acquire a blocking stake of 26% in the hotel’s parent company.
The uncertainty in the property’s future ownership structure stemmed from the possibility of Kerimov or other strategic investors acquiring a huge stake in the property. The non-resolution of this uncertainty, according to Alexander Ortenberg, the director of the Moscow office of the Austria-based Strabag construction firm that is the general contractor for the renovation works, has led to stoppage of the construction works.
The expected changes in the ownership structure have been confirmed by Vladimir Silkin, the head of the Moscow government real-estate assets department, who said the City Hall was ready to offload the 26% stake to a strategic investor with capabilities to reroute serious investment resources into the property development. “The city government is currently engaged in active negotiations with different potential investors, including the Nafta-Moskva group
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