Starwood gets higher bid from Anbang

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc said yesterday a $13 billion (€11.5 billion) cash offer from China’s Anbang Insurance Group Co was superior to one from Marriott International Inc, setting the stage for the largest-ever deal by a Chinese company in the US.

The hotel operator said the Chinese insurer’s offer beat Marriott’s agreed cash and stock offer by nearly 15 per cent, and that it planned to scrap the proposed deal with the rival hotel chain. Anbang has been on a US hotel buying spree as Chinese insurers rush to acquire high-yielding assets as they struggle to keep up with the policy liabilities of the country’s aging population.

The Anbang-led consortium includes private equity firms JC Flowers & Co from the United States and Primavera Capital from China.

– (Reuters)