Anbang Insurance Group Co Ltd acquired New York luxury hotel Waldorf Astoria

Chinese firm Anbang Insurance Group Co Ltd on 6 October 2014 acquired the New York luxury hotel Waldorf Astoria for 1.95 billion US dollars.  The Waldorf Astoria is owned and managed by Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.

The deal is scheduled to close on 31 December 2014 but if that closing time is delayed, the companies will finalize the purchase no later than 31 March 2015.

Highlights of the acquisition
•    Anbang Insurance Group Co Ltd will pay 1.38 million US dollars per room for the hotel. This price is more than the amount fetched by some other high-end hotels in the past few years.
•    However, Hilton will continue to operate the property for the next 100 years.
•    The Chinese firm will restore the 47-story tower to its historic grandeur. The renovations would include the conversion of some of the Waldorf Astoria's top floors into condominiums.
•    Money made from the sale will enable Hilton Worldwide to buy more properties in the USA.

Hilton's Waldorf Astoria
•    Conrad Hilton, founder of the Hilton Hotels chain, bought the Waldorf Astoria New York in 1949 after the hotel opened on Park Avenue after two decades.
•    This New York hotel is the flagship of Hilton's luxury brand Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts launched in 2006 which now spans across 27 destinations including Beijing, Shanghai, Amsterdam and Dubai.
•    In 1993, the hotel was declared as an official New York City landmark joining the Empire State Building and the Brooklyn Bridge.
•    The hotel had been the setting for the film Weekend at The Waldorf starring Ginger Rogers.
•    Its 1000 US dollars-per-week Suite 2728 was home to Marilyn Monroe in 1955 after she left behind her troubled life in Hollywood.
•    Some of the rooms are much more expensive. A night in the Towers presidential suite will cost 1609 US dollars to a single guest. The hotel had 1413 rooms as of December 2013.

Anbang Insurance Group Co Ltd
Based in Beijing, Anbang Insurance Group Co Ltd manages about 700 billion Yuan worth of assets. The company covers 31 provinces and autonomous regions. It has over 3000 outlets, over 10 million customers and overseas Asset Management Company.

Anbang Group presently provides services of property insurance, life insurance, health insurance, asset management, insurance sales, insurance brokering and banking. The company also owns Chengdu Rural Commercial Bank and Anbang Asset Management Company.