Griffin in Talks to Sell the Beverly Hilton Hotel
Merv Griffin, owner of the Beverly Hilton hotel, said Wednesday that he was in talks to sell the landmark celebrity stamping ground to Beverly Hills real estate development firm Probity International Corp.
Neither Griffin nor Probity Chief Executive Robert Zarnegin would disclose the terms of a potential deal. But if talks result in a sale, the hotel would keep the Hilton name, both parties said.
Griffin, a longtime TV talk show host and singer who also created the game shows “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!,” is ranked as one of Los Angeles’ richest denizens, with a net worth of $1.2 billion. In 1986 he sold the game shows and turned to real estate, buying and selling 14 hotels during the 1990s.
Griffin, 77, has owned the Beverly Hilton for 16 years, having purchased the hotel in 1987 from Barron Hilton, son of hotel magnate Conrad Hilton. “This property and its employees have been very important to me for many years,” Griffin said.
Griffin said he felt “tremendous confidence” in Zarnegin’s ability to “carry forward the legacy.”
Privately owned Probity has developed a number of commercial and residential properties in the Los Angeles area and is the managing partner of the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel.
Zarnegin described the Beverly Hilton as “an exceptional asset.” The potential sale would be “an unparalleled opportunity to renovate and reposition” the hotel, at Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards.
The Beverly Hilton, scene of countless Hollywood award shows and also home of the legendary watering hole Trader Vic’s, is one of three hotels owned by Griffin and is part of the Griffin Group, an investment and management company.
