The on-off merger between Starwood and Marriott looks to be back on, with Chinese consortium Anbang dropping its latest bid due to “market considerations”.
Anbang had raised its bid for the Starwood Hotels and Resorts group to $14 billion earlier this week, following a revised offer by Marriott International.
But Anbang’s bid has now been withdrawn, and the consortium has advised Starwood that it “does not intend to make another proposal”.
Commenting on the news Bruce Duncan, Chairman of Starwood’s Board said:
"Throughout this process, we have been focused on maximizing stockholder value now and in the future.
“Our Board is confident this transaction offers superior value for Starwood’s stockholders, can close quickly, and provides value-creation potential that will enable both sets of stockholders to benefit from future financial performance.
“We continue to be very excited about the combination of our two companies and are committed to completing this deal in an expeditious manner.
“We are confident Starwood stockholders will support a merger that will create the world’s best and biggest hotel company and which offers significant long-term upside for not only our stockholders, but also our company and associates."
Marriott’s revised offer values Starwood at $13.3 billion, around $1 billion higher than its original offer before the start of the bidding war with Anbang.
starwoodhotels.com, marriott.com
Mark Caswell
