New York's Plaza Hotel to go global after US$600m sale

A Dubai-based investor said Sunday he has teamed up with a US real estate heavyweight to purchase New York's Plaza Hotel, and plans to turn the icon into a global brand.

Shahal Khan, whose Dubai-based White City Ventures partnered Kamran Hakim to make the US$600 million purchase, said they aim to expand to the United Arab Emirates by 2020.

"The Plaza is very unique but has never been made into a global brand," he told AFP.

The historic hotel has appeared in numerous movies, including Home Alone 2, in which then-owner, now US President Donald Trump, makes a cameo appearance in the lobby.