Designed by Andrée Putman, the instant hit introduced the boutique hotel category, becoming a "worldwide phenomenon.
[5][6] On Valentine's Day 2006, $MHG IPO'ed in a $360 million-target raise underwritten by Morgan Stanley, with Schrager cashing in his remaining 450,000 shares for another $9 million.
[11] Nazarian retained majority ownership of SBE, remaining its Founder & CEO, leading day-to-day operations.
[citation needed] The merged company owned and/or operated over 20 hotels, including six properties under SBE's flagship SLS brand.
[citation needed] As an independent company before M&A, MHG owned and managed 17 hotels in Doha, Istanbul, London, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami Beach, New York and San Francisco comprising over 3,000 rooms.