James Dolan on Monday agreed to sell Tao Group to PokerStars co-founder Mark Scheinberg in a deal that values the upscale restaurant business at $550 million.
Dolan’s Madison Square Garden Entertainment purchased Tao in 2017 for $181 million and can receive $300 million in net proceeds from the sale, MSGE said in a press release.
MSGE owns a 67% stake in Tao, which has a $90 million outstanding loan that will likely be reduced from Dolan’s share of the profits.
Tao founders Marc Packer, Wealthy Wolf, Noah Tepperberg and Jason Strauss retain their stake within the business.
Expensive Tao clubs have long been the playgrounds of Wall Street financiers and celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Bella Hadid and Justin Bieber.
Analyst Morgan Stanley calculated in December that Tao – which runs 32 Latest York restaurants and clubs equivalent to Beauty & Essex, Lavo and Bar Moxy, in addition to dozens of other venues in London, Singapore and Dubai – was value $524 million.
In January, The Post reported that Dolan, who also owns the Knicks and Rangers, is selling Tao and hopes to use the proceeds to complete the Las Vegas Sphere Arena within the Venetian. The Sphere’s budget increased from $1.2 billion to $2.2 billion. It is anticipated to open this fall.
![Dolan smiles](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000006716392.jpg?w=665)
MSGE doesn’t have the funds to run Tao’s recent restaurants or nightclubs and is securing contracts to manage the brand new venues, a source close to the chain said.
That ought to now change with Scheinberg, owner of real estate-focused investment firm Mohari Hospitality, the source added.
“The founders of Tao now have a partner who wants to grow, so it’s great for them,” the source said.
![Tao nightclub in The Venetian Las Vegas](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/tao-nightclub.jpg?w=1024)
The move comes as MSG Entertainment completes a reorganization plan that may see it split its live entertainment business right into a recent entity.
Under the plan, which is anticipated to be formally accomplished by Thursday, the present company will likely be renamed Sphere Entertainment Co and can consist of the Sphere music arena in Las Vegas and MSG Networks’ TV unit.
The brand new company, which can retain the Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp name, will include venues equivalent to Radio City Music Hall, Beacon Theater and Chicago Theatre, in addition to entertainment and sports booking operations.
Scheinberg and his father sold online gambling company PokerStars to Amaya Gaming in 2014 for $4.9 billion.