Marriott expected to buy rival Starwood Hotels after China's Anbang drops $14 billion bid


Late Thursday, China's Anbang Insurance Group Co. unexpectedly dropped its $14 billion bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, leaving the door open to rival suitor Marriott International. Anbang's aggressive offer, backed by private equity firms J.C. Flowers & Co. and Primavera Capital Group, would have resulted in the largest-ever Chinese acquisition of a U.S. company. The insurance firm said it dropped the bid "due to various market considerations," while Primarvera chairman Fred Hu told Reuters that "Anabang is a disciplined buyer" with "both the interest and the financial resources to do a deal of this size and more, but only at the right terms that make long-term financial sense"
Anbang, an insurance company started in 2004, made its bid for Starwood after Marriott had already agreed to buy the hotel company for $12.2 billion last November. Analysts say that Anbang's rival offers made Marriott raise its offer by about $1 billion. After hearing about Anbang dropping its bid, Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson told The Wall Street Journal that "we're thrilled.... And we’re ready to go." Starwood owns such hotel brands as Sheraton, W Hotels, St. Regis, and Westin, and if Marriott closes the deal, the combined company will be the world's biggest hotel chain, with 30 brands and more than a million rooms.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
A potential railway megamerger raises monopoly questions
The Explainer Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern would create the country's largest railway operator
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages