Trump In Talks To Sell DC Hotel To A-Rod Connected Investment Firm

The Trump Organization is in advanced negotiations to sell its controversial Washington, D.C., hotel in a deal valued at more than $370 million.

What Happened: According to a Bloomberg report quoting unnamed “people familiar with the effort,” the Miami-based investment firm CGI Merchant Group has been in discussions with the Trump Organization to acquire the Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C., on Pennsylvania Avenue, within walking distance of the White House.

The property, the former Old Post Office Building, was leased from the federal government for a 60-year term by Donald Trump’s company in 2012, who redeveloped the 1899 structure as a luxury hotel.

However, Trump refused to sell the hotel after his 2016 election, and critics of the former president argued foreign governments and special interest groups could leverage favors from the Trump administration by booking rooms and conference halls at the hotel.

Recently released documents from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform affirmed that foreign governments spent $3.75 million at the hotel during the Trump administration.

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What's Next: CGI Merchant Group’s CEO Raoul Thomas announced plans last year to partner with retired baseball player Alex Rodriguez on a fund to acquire hotel properties across North America and the Caribbean, with a particular focus on “trophy assets with the potential for significant value appreciation.”

However, the hotel hasn't shown significant appreciation during the Trump presidency. The venue lost more $70 million during Trump’s term in office and was the subject of multiple lawsuits brought by the former president's detractors.

The Trump Organization initially floated an asking price of more than $500 million in 2019, but the property was removed from the market at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Photo: Ted Eytan / Flickr