Tag Archives: Waldorf

LEISURE: Spurned in France, China Hotelier Tries US Office Specialist WeWork

Bottom line: Jin Jiang’s $260 million investment in WeWork is part of the Chinese company’s global expansion, and could see the pair work together to accelerate a move of the shared office concept into China.

Shared office specialist gets backing from Jin Jiang

After getting a chilly reception in the US and France, Chinese companies eager to buy western hotel brands may be taking a different approach in their bid to go global. That appears to be the bottom line in a new move by state-run Chinese hotel giant Jin Jiang (HKEx: 2006; Shanghai: 600754), which has reportedly just invested $260 million in US shared office space operator WeWork.

Foreign hotels have become a flavor of the day for Chinese buyers looking to expand beyond their home market and import foreign expertise to improve their own operations. In addition to brands, Chinese companies have also developed a taste for big-name foreign hotels, led by the purchase of New York’s storied Waldorf Astoria by state-owned Chinese insurer Anbang nearly 2 years ago for an eye-popping price of nearly $2 billion. Read Full Post…

LEISURE: Anbang Confident of Beijing Nod for Starwood Bid

Bottom line: Marriott stands a 60-40 chance of having its bid for Starwood approved at an April 8 shareholder vote, since a competing Anbang proposal could face the strong possibility of rejection by China’s insurance regulator.

Anbang confident of Beijing will approve Starwood bid

A series of new reports and data on Chinese insurer Anbang are showing why the company is confident it can get regulatory approval from Beijing in its heated bidding war for Starwood (NYSE: HOT), operator of the Sheraton and Westin hotel brands. I also expect that the US regulator would have little or no reason to veto such a deal on national security grounds, since Starwood really doesn’t handle any sensitive information as hotel operator.

Thus from a regulatory perspective, if the latest Chinese reports are correct, it does look like Anbang would be able to get the necessary regulatory approval from both Washington and Beijing to buy Starwood for $14 billion in its ongoing bidding war with Marriott (NYSE: MAR). But the reports coming from China are quite contradictory, reflecting a potential looming clash between Anbang and China’s conservative insurance regulator.  Read Full Post…

LEISURE: Marriott Trumps Anbang with Surprise Counter Bid for Starwood

Bottom line: Anbang is almost certain to make a new counter bid for Starwood above Marriott’s latest offer, and will ultimately win the bidding war due to its determination to make an acquisition at any cost.

Marriott trumps Anbang bid for Starwood

The sudden bidding war for US hotel operator Starwood (NYSE: HOT) is rapidly intensifying, with hometown suitor Marriott (NYSE: MAR) sharply raising its original bid for the company to trump a more recent offer from Chinese insurer Anbang. The move surprised many, including myself, since the new bid represents a 10 percent raise from Marriott’s earlier offer for Starwood made late last year. I had predicted that Marriott might raise its original bid as much as 5 percent, but that it would ultimately shy away from getting into a real bidding war.

Starwood has said it will accept Marriott’s new offer and even signed a deal. But we should also point out it said just days ago it also said it would accept Anbang’s offer as well. So the major question now is whether Anbang will try to top Marriott with a new bid before an April 8 deadline. I suspect the answer to that question is “yes”, since Anbang seems determined to buy Starwood at any price. Read Full Post…

LEISURE: Uncertain Starwood Leaves Anbang Sweating

Bottom line: Anbang’s hiring of a consultant to gauge shareholder interest in its bid for Starwood indicates a lack of confidence in reaching a deal with Starwood’s management, and shows its offer is ultimately likely to fail.

Starwood preparing to reject Anbang?

Chinese insurer Anbang is quickly learning that money can’t buy you everything, following its surprise mega-bid for US hotel giant Starwood (NYSE: HOT), operator of the Sheraton and Westin brands. That’s my latest interpretation, following reports that Anbang has hired a professional proxy solicitor to gauge investor sentiment towards its $12.8 billion bid for Starwood that trumped a previous offer by US hotel giant Marriott (NYSE: MAR).

I said earlier this week that Starwood’s board and management were ultimately likely to reject the Anbang bid, and opt for a union with a partner like Marriott that could ensure its longer-term future. (previous post) This latest move implies that Anbang may be getting a cool reception from Starwood’s management, and is testing the waters to potentially take its bid directly to Starwood’s shareholders in what would become a hostile takeover bid. Read Full Post…

TRAVEL: Anbang Chases US Hotels, China Lodging Profits on Services

Bottom line: Anbang Insurance is paying a big premium for US luxury hotels and may have to sell them for losses when China’s property market corrects, while China Lodging looks like a good bet due to growing profits from its focus on hotel franchising and management.

China Lodging posts big profit growth

A couple of hotel stories are in the headlines as we head into the new week, led by a surprise blockbuster deal that will see Chinese insurer Anbang buy US-based Strategic Hotels & Resorts for $6.5 billion. Meantime, one of China’s largest private hotel operators, China Lodging (Nasdaq: HTHT), has just reported its latest quarterly results that showed a big jump in profitability, as it mimics western peers by focusing on franchising and management services rather than self-developing properties.

These 2 stories both involve hotels but are also quite different, since Anbang’s move is squarely focused on overseas markets and its purchase represents an investment in property ownership. By comparison, China Lodging, owner of the budget Hanting hotel chain, is a domestic story of a company trying to move away from property ownership and into the higher end businesses of hotel management and franchising services. Read Full Post…

TRAVEL: HNA Checks Into Red Lion Hotels, Buyout Coming?

Bottom line: HNA’s purchase of a stake in a small US hotel chain could presage a larger buyout bid for the company in partnership with a Chinese operator looking to expand abroad.

HNA checks in to Red Lion

We’ll take a break today from all the recent mega-deals involving Chinese firms, and focus our attention on a much smaller hotel purchase by private equity high flyer HNA Group. Frankly speaking, I find this new investment in US hotelier Red Lion Hotels (NYSE: RLH) a bit puzzling, as the actual size of the deal is very small and hardly worthwhile for a leading Chinese private equity investor like HNA. But that said, global real estate and hotels in particular have emerged as a hot commodity for big Chinese investors over the last year, meaning this particular deal could presage a larger purchase in the sector by HNA as it tests out the market. Read Full Post…

LEISURE: Anbang Closes Waldorf Buy, Heats Up Real Estate

Bottom line: Washington’s approval of the purchase of the Waldorf Astoria hotel by a Chinese insurer indicates a wave of similar real estate buying by Chinese investors will accelerate, resulting in a bubble likely to burst over the next decade.

Anbang closes Waldorf buy

Washington has just sent an important signal that it won’t seek to halt the growing tide of Chinese investment in US real estate, with word that Anbang Insurance has just closed its purchase of New York’s storied Waldorf Astoria hotel for nearly $2 billion. I was quite surprised at how quickly this deal closed, since the amount of money is huge and the deal itself also sparked some controversy over potential national security issues. More precisely, it took just over 4 months to close the purchase of one of the world’s most famous hotels at a record-setting price. Read Full Post…

News Digest: February 5, 2015

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on February 5. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Yum’s (NYSE: YUM) China Sales Fall Less Than Expected, Shares Rise (English article)
  • Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) to Invest $100 Mln In Lenovo Unit Fancy Maker – Source (English article)
  • JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) Launches “French Mall” Imported Goods Platform (Globe Newswire)
  • Chinese Tycoon in Waldorf Deal Says ‘Ni Hao’ at Harvard (English article)
  • Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) To Pay Record 100 Mln Yuan For 360.com Domain (Chinese article)

News Digest: December 20-22, 2014

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on December 20-22. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • China’s Fosun (HKEx: 656) Raises Offer For Club Med (Paris: CU) (English article)
  • Waldorf Buyer Anbang Invests In Property, Banking Stakes (English article)
  • China Mobile (HKEx: 941) Targets 250 Mln 4G Users By End Of 2015 (Chinese article)
  • BYD (HKEx: 1211) Stock Rebounds, Confirms Buffett Hasn’t Sold Down Stake (Chinese article)
  • Ctrip (Nasdaq: CTRP) Launches Open Platform For Travel Agents (Chinese article)

Anbang Eyes Korea And Europe, Hits Waldorf Headwind

Anbang in sudden global buying binge

After spending most of its life in relative obscurity, Chinese insurer Anbang is suddenly making steady headlines on the global stage with word of 2 major new deals in Europe and Asia, following its landmark agreement last week to buy New York’s storied Waldorf Astoria hotel for nearly $2 billion. The larger of the latest deals has Anbang in talks to buy a major stake in South Korea’s Woori Bank, while the smaller has it buying Belgian insurer Fidea. Meantime, Anbang’s earlier landmark Waldorf deal is showing early trouble signs, with word that some US diplomats are expressing concerns about the sale over the potential for spying. Read Full Post…

News Digest: October 15, 2014

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Anbang Insurance Deal For Waldorf Astoria Raises US Security Fears (English article)
  • EU, China Have Resolved Telecoms Dispute: EU Trade Chief (English article)
  • Xiaomi Signs Former Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Exec As India Products Manager (English article)
  • Costco (Nasdaq: COST) Makes China Debut On Alibaba’s (NYSE: BABA) Tmall Platform (Businesswire)
  • China’s Gingko Tree Said In Talks To Buy Siemens (Frankfurt: SIEGn) Offices (English article)