Anbang Insurance Group is switching strategies: Instead of selling hotel properties one-by-one, the Chinese conglomerate is looking to shed the entire $5.5 billion portfolio all at once.
The portfolio of 15 hotels includes Essex House Hotel in Manhattan and the InterContinental Hotels in Chicago and Miami. Anbang purchased the properties from the Blackstone Group in 2016 for $5.5 billion, though it’s not clear what price the portfolio will now command. The Waldorf Astoria isn’t included in the group of hotels up for sale.
Anbang is approaching prospective buyers directly, since the pool of investors who can scoop up the entire portfolio is limited, the Wall Street Journal reported. The deal would be the company’s most significant sale overseas since the Chinese government seized control of its operations. In May, its former chairman, Wu Xiaohui, was sentenced to 18 years in prison after being convicted of fraud and embezzlement.
Other Chinese companies have been working to quickly sell off their real estate assets amid pressure from the government to limit exposure to such investments abroad. For example, HNA Group is in talks to sell 850 Third Avenue and could, according to reports, take a loss on such a deal. [WSJ] — Kathryn Brenzel