By Greg Roumeliotis
(Reuters) - China's Anbang Insurance Group Co has abandoned its bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc , people familiar with the matter said on Thursday, paving the way for Marriott International Inc to buy the Sheraton and Westin hotels operator.
The surprise withdrawal marks an anticlimactic end to a bidding war that had pitted Marriott's ambitions to create the world's largest lodging company, with about 5,700 hotels, against Anbang's drive to create a vast portfolio of U.S. real estate assets.
Anbang did not offer Starwood a reason for not following through on its raised offer of March 26, the people said on Thursday. Starwood said on Monday that Anbang had raised its offer to almost $14 billion. That offer was not binding, and Anbang was expected to firm it up for Starwood to formally declare it superior to Marriott's.
The sources asked not to be identified because the withdrawal has not been announced. Anbang, Starwood and Marriott declined to provide immediate comment.
Anbang's move fuelled speculation on what drove it to change course. Chinese financial magazine Caixin reported earlier this month that China's insurance regulator would likely reject a bid by Anbang to buy Starwood, since it would put the insurer's offshore assets above a 15 percent threshold for overseas investments.
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Should Anbang have clinched an agreement with Starwood, it would have been scrutinized by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an interagency panel that reviews deals to ensure they do not harm national security. However, sources had said that both Starwood and Anbang believed the deal would have received CFIUS clearance.
In its latest offer, Anbang's consortium, which includes private equity firms J.C. Flowers & Co and Primavera Capital Ltd, had offered $82.75 per share in cash. Marriott's latest cash-and-stock offer, which was announced on March 21, is currently worth around $75 per share.
Starwood's shares fell 4.4 percent to $79.80 in extended trading, while Marriott shares fell 4.9 percent to $67.68.
Starwood's shareholders are scheduled to vote on the Marriott deal on April 8.
Lazard Ltd and Citigroup Global Markets Inc are financial advisers to Starwood. Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is its legal counsel. Deutsche Bank Securities and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher are advising Marriott.
PJT Partners Inc is Anbang's financial adviser, while Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is its legal counsel.
(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Addtional reporting Ramkumar Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang)