Well, that didn”™t take long.
Mere days after Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide said it was expecting a potentially “superior proposal” to Marriott International’s for acquiring its 1,200-plus properties, second suitor Anbang Insurance Group Co. of China abruptly withdrew from a reported $14 billion takeover offer.
The end of Anbang”™s participation in negotiations, which began three weeks ago, was announced in a brief email citing “various market considerations.” Late last year, Anbang Chairman Wu Xiaohui withdrew a preliminary offer to acquire Starwood during a meeting after being asked to share written details of Anbang”™s plans for financing the deal.
Anbang”™s exit should clear the way for Marriott to move forward with its proposed offer for Starwood, first announced last November. Starwood shareholders are scheduled to vote April 8 on the Marriott deal, which is valued at $77.94 a share or $13.2 billion, based on the March 31 closing price.
If it goes through, the Marriott acquisition would make it the world”™s largest hotel company with roughly 30 hotel brands. In addition to the Marriott name, the company”™s 4,000-plus hotels include the Ritz-Carlton, Bulgari, Protea and Moxy names.
Stamford-based Starwood”™s properties include the Westin, Sheraton, St. Regis, and W Hotel brands.
Anbang will presumably continue with its already agreed-upon $6.5 billion acquisition from Blackstone Group LP of Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc., which owns 17 luxury hotels in the U.S. and one in Germany. Anbang acquired New York City”™s fabled Waldorf Astoria from Blackstone for nearly $2 billion in 2014.
