The battle for Starwood Hotels & Resorts took another twist yesterday as a Chinese consortium raised its offer in an effort to outbid Marriott.
The group led by China’s Anbang insurance organisation increased its offer to almost $14 billion after Marriott had agreed a takeover worth $13.6 billion.
Starwood said that a new offer from the Anbang consortium was “likely to lead to a superior proposal” from Marriott.
But Marriott responded by saying its offer was the best option.
“The combined company will offer stockholders significant equity upside and greater long-term value driven by a larger global footprint, wider choice of brands for consumers, substantial revenue synergies, and improved economics to owners and franchisees leading to accelerated global growth and continued strong returns,” the US hotel giant said.
Marriott added that it would monitor the situation following the “updated unsolicited” offer from the Angbang Insurance Group consortium, which owns the Waldorf Astoria in New York and recently agreed a $6.5 billion deal for Strategic Hotels & Resorts from private equity group Blackstone.