The Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York is being sold to a Chinese company for nearly US$2bn (€1.6bn, £1.2bn), but Hilton will continue to manage the property for the next 100 years.
Anbang Insurance Group, a Chinese health, property and insurance company, is purchasing the 1,415-guestroom Waldorf property from a subsidiary of Hilton Worldwide Holdings. The Asian firm will pay Hilton a US$100m (€79m, £62m) deposit, and is expected to pay off the hotel’s US$525m (€414m, £327m) mortgage as part of the deal, according to
The Guardian. It could take until 31 March 2015 to finalise the sale.
Anbang is a Beijing-based company with 20m customers, 30,000 employees and US$113bn (€89bn, £70bn) in assets.
The hotel, which features a
Guerlain spa, will undergo a major renovation.
“We are very excited to be entering into this long-term relationship with Anbang, which will ensure that the
Waldorf Astoria New York represents the brand’s world-class standards for generations to come,” said Christopher J Nassetta, president and CEO of Hilton Worldwide. “This relationship represents a unique opportunity for our organisations to work together to finally maximise the full value of this iconic asset on a full city block in midtown Manhattan.”
Hilton Worldwide intends to use the proceeds from the sale to acquire additional hotel assets in the US in one or more transactions. These acquisitions will be finalised and announced at a later date, according to the Hilton website.
Hilton purchased the Waldorf in 1949. In December, Hilton raised US$2.35bn (€1.9bn, £1.5bn) in the largest ever initial public offering by a hotel company. The majority of Hilton is now owned by private equity firm Blackstone Group LP.
