Yelena Baturina, the billionaire wife of former Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov, is expected to buy Morrison’s Hotel in the Irish capital of Dublin for up to 25 million euros ($31.7 million), Irish Times has reported.
Baturina, whose wealth is estimated at $1.2 billion, is set to finalize the deal with Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) on buying the hotel this week.
The hotel that was put on sale in September, 2011, has already attracted three or four purchase bids, from which Baturina’s offer was the highest, Irish Times said.
Ireland, which is experiencing serious debt problems, similar to those in Greece, approved in late 2010 an economy recovery plan that includes among others an 85-billion-euro bailout tranche from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.
In her interview in mid-December, Baturina, Russia's richest woman, said she was living in a rented home in London.
It was reported earlier that Baturina had sold her property development company Inteko, which thrived when her husband was the mayor of Moscow, as well as other businesses, to B&N Bank owner Mikhail Shishkhanov in partnership with Sberbank Investments.
Baturina’s representatives have not confirmed the information about the deal.
