Starwood Hotels receives higher $82.75-a-share offer from Anbang

[SEATTLE] Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc said it received a higher takeover offer from a group led by Anbang Insurance Group Co, putting the Chinese company back into battle with Marriott International Inc for control of the hotel operator.

Starwood said the Anbang group offered US$82.75 a share in cash, or about US$14 billion, according to a statement Monday. That compares with Marriott's stock-and-cash offer valued at US$75.91 a share, or about US$12.8 billion, based on Thursday's closing price.

Starwood, which has had a merger agreement with Marriott since November, on March 21 said it would proceed with an amended deal after receiving a sweetened bidfrom its larger competitor. A 6.2 per cent decline in Marriott's stock in the four days through Thursday pushed the value of its latest offer below the Anbang group's previous cash bid of US$78 a share.

The new offer from Anbang, which is working with JC Flowers & Co and Primavera Capital, shows the insurer won't easily back down as it seeks to build its hotel holdings. The Beijing-based company last year purchased Manhattan's landmark Waldorf Astoria for US$1.95 billion, and is in a deal to acquire luxury-property owner Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc for about US$6.5 billion. Gaining Starwood would add brands such as Sheraton, W and St Regis, as well as about US$4 billion worth of real estate.

BLOOMBERG