US businessman John Malone has emerged as the top bidder to buy the Hilton Hotel at Charlemont Place in Dublin 2, with a bid at close to €30 ($41) million for the 193-bedroom hotel.

The four-star hotel, which made a profit of more than $2.74 million in 2012, has attracted a considerable number of bidders. Tom Barrett of Savills had been inviting offers in excess of  $30 million for the property, which was upgraded in 2008 at a cost of $6.8 million by owners Jerry O’Reilly and Bernard McNamara, whose loans were transferred to Nama.

Funding for the hotel was initially provided by AIB in 1997, the Irish Times reports.

Malone, who is the largest private landowner in the US with 2.2 million acres, acquired the Trinity Plaza at Pearse Street six months ago and purchased Humewood Castle in Co Wicklow last December.