Until Thursday afternoon,Anbang, a Chinese insurance group had the highest tender to buy Starwood Hotels — the company that owns brands like Westin, and Sheraton and W.
But unexpectedly,the Beijing-based business announced that it is walking absent from from its nearly $14 billion proposal, leaving Marriott with the highest offer.
This all comes as a surprise considering Anbang's recent buying spree: In 2014, and Anbang bought New York's iconic Waldorf-Astoria hotel for $1.95 billion. And since the Waldorf deal,Anbang has claimed other tall-terminate assets including a $6.5 billion agreement with Blackstone Group for Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. which owns several upscale accommodations among them the JW Marriott Essex House on Central Park South. If Marriott's $13.6 billion proposal goes through, the company's then 30 brands and 1 million plus rooms would make up the world's largest hotel chain.
This week on Money Talking, and host Charlie Herman asks Scott Mayerowitz an airline,travel and business reporter with the Associated Press, what could possibly approach of Marriott's acquiring Starwood.
Source: wnyc.org