Beverly Hills Hotel Sold; Buyer Said to Be Sultan

The landmark Beverly Hills Hotel, the pink and posh celebrity haunt purchased in December by a group headed by businessman Marvin Davis, has been sold again, for an undisclosed price.

The buyer was identified only as Sajahtera Inc., but sources close to the deal, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the price was $200 million and the buyer was the oil-rich sultan of Brunei, Muda Hassanal Bolkiah.

It had previously been speculated that the sultan was near an agreement to buy the hotel at that price.

In a two-sentence release, the Beverly Hills Hotel said the new owners “intend to pursue the existing plans for major improvements and refurbishing of all public spaces and the hotel’s 260 guest rooms and cottages.”

The hotel is the home of the Polo Lounge, a favorite watering hole for celebrities.

The Davis group, the Miller-Klutznick-Davis-Gray Co. real-estate investment firm, bought the hotel last December from the wife of Wall Street stock speculator Ivan Boesky and her family.

However, the Davis group reportedly was discouraged by the extensive remodeling needed at the 75-year-old landmark. Davis is the former owner of 20th Century Fox film studios.

The sultan is one of the world’s richest men, with a fortune estimated at $25 billion.

In 1985, he acquired the Dorcester Hotel in London for $40 million pounds, equivalent to about $64 million at today’s exchange rate.