Anbang abandons Starwood bid, paving the way for Marriott

New York

CHINA'S Anbang Insurance Group Co said on Thursday it has abandoned its bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc, paving the way for Marriott International Inc to buy the Sheraton and Westin hotels operator.

The surprise withdrawal marks an anticlimactic end to a bidding war that had pitted Marriott's ambitions to create the world's largest lodging company, with about 5,700 hotels, against Anbang's drive to create a vast portfolio of US real estate assets.