This Is How Marriott Could Lose Starwood to Anbang’s Investor Group

Although Marriott International successfully wooed Starwood Hotels & Resorts back with its newly revised merger agreement worth $13.6 billion on March 21, there are still a number of reasons why rival Anbang Insurance Group has the best odds for winning Starwood in the end, before Marriott and Starwood's shareholder votes take place on April 8. Here's why: Show Me the Money Given Anbang's track record and what we've seen so far in its overtures to buy Starwood, it's clear Anbang doesn't shy away from spending the big bucks to get what it wants. The group has spent a total of nearly $7 billion since 2014 on foreign acquisitions, including the $1.95 billion in cash it spent to buy the Waldorf-Astoria from Hilton Worldwide in October 2014 — the largest amount ever spent on a U.S. hotel property. Anbang is also set to close a deal with Blackstone to acquire Strategic Hotels & Resorts for approximately $6.5 billion. Anbang is also not acting alone in its attempt to ac