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Though Anbang Insurance has walked away from quite a few big deals this year—including the famed $14B Starwood Hotels & Resorts merger—the Chinese group has been on an overseas shopping spree as of late.
Anbang made a splash in US real estate last year with its $2B trophy buy of the NYC Waldorf Astoria, and has worked to one-up that purchase ever since. Here are five big buys from Anbang in the past 12 months.
Strategic Hotels & Resorts
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Seller: Blackstone Group
Cost: $6.5B
In a $6.5B blockbuster deal, Blackstone Group sold Strategic Hotels & Resorts to Anbang earlier this year in what is the largest US real estate purchase from a Chinese buyer. The private equity firm had originally planned to sell its Strategic portfolio one asset at a time, but Anbang swept in with an offer it could not refuse. Many were initially skeptical of the deal and Anbang’s credibility following its failed Starwood merger, but as of September the Chinese buyer had completed the majority of the deal.
Japanese Portfolio
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Seller: Blackstone Group
Cost: $2.3B
Blackstone is in talks with Anbang about selling its $2.3B portfolio of Japanese properties to the Chinese buyer. Blackstone has been unloading ample real estate assets as of late, reporting its largest Q2 earnings since its inception this year thanks to real estate sales. Very few details have been released on this deal so far.
Retirement Concepts
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Seller: N/A
Cost: $1B
In Canada, Anbang has plans to buy a majority stake in British Columbia’s largest retirement home chain, Retirement Concepts—the Vancouver-based chain owns and operates 24 communities. The deal, announced this month, was speculated to surpass $1B and is under review for approval by the country’s federal investment board.
Bentall Centre
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Seller: Ivanhoé Cambridge
Cost: $660M
The Beijing-based buyer grabbed a majority stake in Vancouver’s iconic Bentall Centre complex early this year. The development, which consists of 1.5M SF of office space in four distinct office buildings and a 53k SF underground mall, was formerly majority owned by real estate firm Ivanhoé Cambridge. Anbang took a 66% stake in the four buildings for roughly $660M.
Toronto 30-Story Tower
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Seller: Canderel, OPTrust
Cost: $395M
Speculation is that Anbang will continue its North American real estate binge by finalizing a deal to acquire a 30-story tower at 777 Bay St from developer Canderel and pension fund manager OPTrust. The deal for the downtown Toronto office and retail tower could set Anbang back about $395M.
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