Who Will Buy the Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.?

This is a situation worth watching. China’s Anbang Insurance Group Co. has raised its offer to Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. It now stands at almost $14 billion. The bidding war for Starwood has on the one side Marriot, and their desire to create the world’s largest lodging company. It has, on the other side, Anbang’s desire to have a large portfolio of US real estate assets.

Should Anbang win, it would be the largest ever acquisition by a Chinese company in the US. A vote for Starwood shareholders to approve of the Marriott deal is scheduled for April 8. At the moment, as it stands, Anbang has offered $82.75 per share in cash while Marriott has offered about $78 per share. 

As Marriott said in a statement, 

“Starwood stockholders should give serious consideration to the question of whether the Anbang-led consortium will be able to close the proposed transaction, with a particular focus on the certainty of the consortium’s financing and the timing of any required regulatory approvals.” 

Time will tell what happens.