A consortium led by South Korea’s Mirae Asset Global Investments has agreed to buy a portfolio of 15 US hotels from China’s Anbang Insurance Group for around KRW6.7trn (€5bn).

Mirae said it had signed a contract to buy the luxury hotels which include the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco, the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, the JW Marriott Essex House in New York and the Four Seasons in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Mirae officials told the media that the consortium competed against the like of Singapore’s GIC, Host Hotels & Resorts, and Blackstone Group.

Blackstone sold Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc, the holding company of the hotels, to Anbang for around US$5.5bn (€5bn) in 2016.

During its global investment spree, Anbang chalked up deals, valued at more than US$30bn - in the process built up a huge pile of debt and incurred the wrath of the Chinese government.

Anbang’s former chairman, Wu Xiaohu, was later sentenced to 18 years in prison for fraud and embezzlement.

The Chinese insurer is currently selling a portfolio of multifamily buildings in Japan, acquired from Blackstone, with an expected asking price of around US$3bn.

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