Starwood Hotels gets unsolicited buyout proposal

US hotel operator Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide said it received a non-binding buyout offer from a consortium of companies, valuing the company at $12.84 billion.

The news comes four months after Marriott International Inc agreed to buy Starwood for $12.18 billion to create the world's largest hotel chain.

Starwood did not disclose the names of the companies that made the approach, but Marriott said in a separate statement that the consortium was led by China’s Anbang Insurance Group. Marriott said it remained committed to the Starwood acquisition.

Anbang has also agreed to buy Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc from Blackstone Group LP for around $6.5 billion, a person briefed on the matter told Reuters on Saturday. The consortium’s offer of $76 per share for Starwood excludes the amount shareholders will receive as part of the previously announced sale of Starwood’s vacation ownership business, currently valued at about $5.50 per Starwood share.

Interval Leisure Group said in October it would buy Starwood’s vacation ownership business, Vistana Signature Experiences, then valued at about $1.5 billion. Marriott’s offer of $72.08 per share in stock also excluded the vacation ownership business.

Reuters