Winner: Anbang Chairman Wu Xiaohui
Why: Anbang Insurance has rattled the US commercial real estate market this month, snatching up billions in hotel assets from the biggest in the business. The opaque company's biggest splash has been its ongoing bidding war against Marriott for Starwood Hotels—one in which it has bested the US firm at every turn, including making the highest offer at $14B.
(UPDATE: In a shocking development, Anbang actually retracted its offer just yesterday.)
And that's just the cherry on top of Anbang's strong March showing. Xiaohui used the month to quietly snatch up Strategic Hotels from Blackstone for $6.5B—in a deal eerily reminiscent of the Chinese firm's $1.95B NYC Waldorf Astoria buy two years ago.
One question remains to be answered—just who is Wu? We know the chairman is practically Chinese royalty, marrying the granddaughter of former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, but the rest is shrouded in mystery, much like the company itself. One thing we do know, Wu Xiaohui is Bisnow's March Player Of The Month.
Honorable Mentions:
Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson—he's gone toe-to-toe with Anbang so far in the multibillion-dollar bidding war over Starwood.
Ivanka Trump—running a company, giving birth and having a presidential front-runner as a father? Ivanka is tough to trump.
Former Jets TE Steve Maneri—the latest football star to leave the gridiron for the shark tank of commercial real estate, Steve just snagged a job as a broker at Colliers International.
This is the third in a monthly series of articles recognizing the big players in commercial real estate. Please send your nominations for a local "Player Of The Month" to us here.
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