CGI Merchant Group, the Miami-based investor that acquired the lease of The Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., in 2022 for $375 million, has defaulted on a $285 million loan related to the property.
According to a Wall Street Journal report sourced from unnamed “people familiar with the matter,” the default was blamed on higher interest rates and the above-market price of the acquisition, which was tens of millions of dollars more than other offers for the property.
CGI CEO Raoul Thomas said he is in talks to receive up to $100 million in new financing for the property. The Journal added that Mavik Capital Management, a real-estate debt and investment fund, is in discussions with CGI to provide $75 million to cure the default and restructure the troubled balance sheet. Mavik is also reportedly planning to offer funds for a private club and another restaurant at the hotel.
However, Hilton – which manages the property – has been conducting separate talks with other firms regarding new capital. Hilton’s input would be required on any new partnership that CGI secures. MSD Partners, an investors group that includes Dell Computer founder Michael S. Dell, is has the defaulted loan and also must approve new creditors or other partners.
The property was originally the Post Office Building, which opened in 1899. Trump leased the property from the federal government in 2012 and reopened it as a hotel in 2016. During Trump’s presidency, the hotel was frequented by lawmakers and lobbyists, which raised complaints that Trump ran afoul of government ethics laws. The hotel’s lease was sold in 2022 and was rebranded by CGI as a Waldorf Astoria hotel.
Photo courtesy of Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C.
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Trump has nothing to do with this property anymore yet the press just wants to smear his name. This journalist needs to get a life. Smear the Waldorf Astoria group or better the left wind Hilton family behind it
Seems to me that Trump was out of the picture with the property lease belonging to a different party. Trying to attach any blame….. which there will likely be an attempt to do…. is absurd.
Hello! For the record, the article does not blame the former president for the defaulted loan.
This shows how smart of a buisness man Trump is.