Dublin's Westin Hotel on Westmoreland Street has been bought by US billionaire John Malone for €65 million.
Malone, who is known as the 'cable king' due to his work in the telecommunications industry, is the man behind Liberty Global, who own UPC, and is the biggest individual landowner in the US, with around 2.2 million acres across the country. He has also invested in various other companies from the Discovery Channel to TripAdvisor.
Malone now owns three Irish hotels with his partners, the Lalco Hotel Group, which is operated by John Lally and Paul Higgins. The other two are the Trinity City Hotel, Pearse Street and the Hilton Hotel, Charlemont Place.
The Westmoreland St. Westin will be operated by Lalco under a franchise agreement with Westin Hotels & Resorts. The acquisition is expected to be completed in August.
Lalco also runs several other hotels around Ireland, including the Glenlo Abbey Hotel and Golf Club, and runs the Kylemore Abbey visitor attraction.
