Millennium & Copthorne had purchased the Plaza in 1995 for $325 million. The company plans to use its share of the sale proceeds to reduce debt and fund the group's general working capital.

The Plaza, which opened in 1907, is located at the corner of 59th Street and Central Park South. Designated a New York City Landmark in 1969, the Plaza is the only New York City hotel to be designated as a National Historic Landmark. The 19-story, 807-room luxury hotel was designed by architect Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, who also designed the Dakota Apartments and was built by a partnership of financier Bernhard Beinecke, hotelier Fred Sterry and Harry S. Black, president of the Fuller Construction Co. The property has been described as "the crown jewel of Manhattan's fabled Fifth Avenue". It was the setting for the film "Home Alone" and the venue for the wedding of Hollywood stars Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones in November 2000.

El-Ad purchased 655 Ave. of the Americas for $37 million last November. The investment group also owns luxury condominium buildings at 21 Astor, 49 East 21st St. and 355 Sixth Ave.