Anbang to Sell US Hotel Portfolio in Record Deal

JW Marriott Essex House. Image via Wikimedia Commons

Chinese insurance giant Anbang has agreed to sell a 15-property hotel portfolio in the U.S. to Mirae Asset Global Investments, a South Korean financial services firm. According to published reports, the deal is valued at more than $5.8 billion.

The deal marks the largest ever cross-border real estate investment by a South Korean firm. JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality division advised Mirae in the deal, while Bank of America Merrill Lynch represented Anbang as a financial advisor.

The Wall Street Journal broke the story the day before Mirae announced the deal and reported that several fake deeds were discovered during the negotiation process. According to the report, four hotels in the portfolio were found to have been fraudulently transferred to LLCs. However, the discovery did not stop the deal from going through.

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Anbang acquired the luxury hotel portfolio from Blackstone in 2016. The properties are located in several major metro areas across the country and total 6,912 keys and approximately 720,000 square feet of meeting space. After buying the portfolio, Anbang invested $400 million in capital expenditures at the hotels and resorts.

The portfolio includes the JW Marriott Essex House in New York City, the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay and Westin St. Francis in San Francisco, the Montage Laguna Beach in Orange County, Calif., the Four Season Silicon Valley, the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess and Four Seasons Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Ariz., the Four Seasons Jackson Hole in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and InterContinental Hotels in Chicago and Miami.

In the fall of 2015, Anbang made headlines when the firm purchased the famed Waldorf Astoria New York for $1.95 billion. The hotel is currently closed for renovations.