Anbang Sells off $5.8B in Assets to Mirae

INTERNATIONAL REPORT—Mirae Asset Global Investments has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a portfolio of 15 U.S. luxury hotels from Anbang Insurance Group Co. The deal would be the biggest cross-border real estate investment by a South Korean company.

Reuters reported that a source with direct knowledge said that the size of the deal is about $5.8 billion and that it is expected to close by the end of January 2020.

“This project is the result of Mirae Asset’s continued effort in the overseas real estate market since 2003,” said Choi Chang-hoon, head of the real estate unit, Mirae Asset. “We will continue to strive to provide investors with the opportunity to diversify their portfolio with core real estate assets located in key, global markets.”

The portfolio, which Anbang purchased from Blackstone in 2016, consists of market-leading luxury hotels and resorts located in high barrier-to-entry urban and resort markets, with limited supply growth. The portfolio, comprising approximately 720,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and 6,912 rooms, is positioned to continue to benefit from the approximate $400 million in capital expenditures that Anbang has invested since 2016.

JLL Hotels & Hospitality is the buy-side valuation and financing advisor on behalf of Mirae Asset. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is acting as sole financial advisor to Anbang on the sale of the portfolio.

The 15-property luxury hotel portfolio includes the JW Marriott Essex House in New York; Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay and Westin St. Francis in San Francisco; Montage Laguna Beach in Southern California; Four Seasons Silicon Valley; Fairmont Scottsdale Princess and Four Seasons Scottsdale in Arizona; Four Seasons Jackson Hole in Wyoming, and InterContinental Hotels in Chicago and Miami

In 2018, the Chinese government seized control of Anbang and removed its chairman from his post and prosecuted him for “economic crimes.”