Primavera, JC Flowers back Anbang's $13b Starwood bid

Starwood identified the two additional investors when announcing that it had received a revised binding and fully financed proposal from the consortium. It intends to enter into a definitive agreement with the consortium, terminating an earlier agreement to merge with Marriott International.

They are offering $76.00 per share for all outstanding shares in the company, the same terms as the non-binding proposal submitted a few days earlier. In addition, shareholders will receive stock in Interval Leisure Group - as part of a spin-out of vacation ownership business Vistana Signature Experiences - that brings the offer value to $83.67 per share.

Marriott's offer was worth $71.00 per share, including the Interval Leisure consideration. The company has until March 28 to negotiate a revised deal with Starwood. Any transaction would require shareholder approval.

Operator of brands such as the St. Regis, Westin and Sheraton, Starwood had approximately 370,000 rooms across 1,297 properties in around 100 countries as of year-end 2015. The majority of these hotels are managed on behalf of third-party owners or franchised out. A total of 317 properties are in the Asia Pacific region, with 159 in Greater China alone.

Starwood posted $1.29 billion in revenue in 2015, down from $1.54 billion the previous year. Net income dropped from $643 million to $489 million over the same period.

Headquartered in Shenzhen, Anbang Insurance Group is the parent of Anbang Property & Casualty Insurance, which was set up in 2004. It has expanded aggressively into financial services and real estate within China and is now venturing overseas with increasing regularity.

Also last week, the company agreed to buy Strategic Hotels & Resorts - owner of 16 luxury hotels in the US - from The Blackstone Group for $6.5 billion. This followed the purchase of the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York from Hilton Worldwide, another Blackstone portfolio company, for $1.95 billion. Within financial services, Vogo Investment (now known as VIG Partners) sold its majority stake in Korea's Tong Yang Life Insurance to Anbang for $998 million in early 2015.

China-focused Primavera manages both renminbi- and US dollar-denominated funds, targeting growth capital, buyout and control, and special situations opportunities. The firm is said to be nearing a final close on its second US dollar vehicle. The first fund closed at $1 billion in 2011.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• North America
• Buyouts
• Real estate
• China
• Primavera
• J.C. Flowers & Co.
• USA