Anbang to acquire Strategic Hotels of US for $6.5b

Westin St. Francis on Union Square in San Francisco. [Photo/people.cn]

China's Anbang Insurance Group has agreed to acquire America's Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc for around $6.5 billion, according to Bloomberg on Saturday.

The deal comes just three months after Strategic Hotels' current owner, private equity firm Blackstone Group, took the company private for around $6 billion.

Strategic Hotels own 18 luxury hotels operated by top hospitality chains including the Four Seasons in Washington DC, the Westin St Francis on Union Square in San Francisco, and the beach-front Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel in California.

Beijing-based Anbang has been investing in luxury US hotel properties since 2012. It purchased New York's landmark Waldorf Astoria Hotel in February, 2015 for $1.95 billion, one of the highest prices per room ever paid for a US hotel.