The Chinese insurance giant is seeking an order to force the South Korean asset manager to complete a deal to change hands on $5.8 billion worth of U.S. luxury hotels.
Annabel said it «seeks an order forcing defendants to specifically perform their obligations under a sale and purchase agreement and certain equity commitment letters», according to legal filings in Delaware this week. The portfolio consists of 15 hotels that span across San Francisco, New York and Wyoming.
Mirae reportedly paid a 10 percent deposit in September 2019 before requesting a pause to the deal, according to a previous «Bloomberg» report. More recently, unnamed sources have been cited by several outlets, including «Bloomberg» and «SCMP», which quote the exact identical phrase that «Mirae is suffering from buyer’s remorse» due to «hotel closures caused by the pandemic».
Anbang reportedly bought the hotels from Blackstone in March 2016 for $6.5 billion.
Anbang’s Unwinding
Once an acquisition giant, Anbang reversed its function following China’s government takeover in 2018 which also included the arrest of former chairman Wu Xiaohui on fraud and embezzlement charges with an 18-year sentence. The state conglomerate has since undergone a major exercise to unwind its assets.
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Anbang has in the last month raised billions of dollars through sales of stakes in Chengdu Rural Commercial Bank, Sichuan-based Heixie Health Insurance and Dutch insurer Vivat.
