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The GSA said it had contracted a third-party consultant to evaluate CGI Merchant Group and its partner Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., which will operate the hotel as a Waldorf Astoria property. After a review, it said, it had determined CGI is a "qualified transferee" and Hilton is a "qualified operator," a necessary step for Trump to sell the lease. The GSA said its contracting officer had notified the Trump Organization of its determination on Friday.
The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for CGI declined to comment.
A person familiar with the deal says it is on track and could be announced in the coming weeks.
The GSA said its review had determined that the sale price was reasonable.
"The contracting officer does not have any basis to conclude that the sale value of the lease is commercially unreasonable or inconsistent with market demand," it said. "The brokerage firm hired by Tenant to market the Lease indicated to the contracting officer that there was broad interest in acquiring the leasehold interest and it received multiple offers in the same range as the sale price to CGI. Moreover, in the contracting officer's opinion, the dollar per key amount (a common metric used to evaluate the sale of hospitality assets) was on par with similar transactions."
This story has been updated with additional details.