Developer wins auction to take over Queen Mary lease

Jeffrey Klein, a Newport Beach developer, has won an auction to take over the lease of the Queen Mary, the world-famous ocean liner harbored in Long Beach.

Klein, who formed the “Save the Queen” group to bid on the ship in bankruptcy court, won with an offer of $43 million. The other final contender for ownership of the Queen Mary, a Santa Monica-based real estate developer called O&S; Holdings, withdrew from the bidding Tuesday.

Queen’s Seaport Development Inc., which held the lease to the Queen Mary for 14 years, filed for bankruptcy in 2005.

Efforts to reach Klein for comment Wednesday were unsuccessful.

— Michael Miller