STAMFORD, CONN. — A consortium consisting of Anbang Insurance Group Co., J.C. Flowers & Co. and Primavera Capital Limited has increased its bid to acquire Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT) to $82.75 in cash per share of Starwood common stock from the previous non-binding proposal of $81 per share bid, which was made on March 26.
Starwood’s board of directors has concluded that this revised, non-binding proposal from the consortium is a superior proposal as defined in Starwood’s merger agreement with Marriott International Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR), according to a press release issued Monday by Starwood.
The new proposal is valued at $14 billion versus Marriott’s previous offer of $13.6 billion.
The Starwood board, in consultation with its legal and financial advisors, will carefully consider the outcome of the discussion with the consortium in order to determine the course of action that is in the best interest of Starwood and its stockholders, the news release stated.
Under the terms of the consortium’s current revised proposal, the consortium will acquire all the outstanding shares of common stock of Starwood for $82.75 per share in cash, an increase of $4.75 per share from its initial binding proposal of $78 per share on March 18.
This new proposal tops Marriott’s previous offer of $79.53 per share, and is the latest offer in the bidding war to acquire Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.
Marriott said in a statement Monday that it remains “confident” its Starwood agreement is the “best course for both companies,” according to CNNMoney. Marriott said it will “monitor” talks between Starwood and Anbang ahead of a scheduled April 8 vote by the shareholders of both hotel chains.