Anbang lifts offer for Starwood to $14bn

Chinese insurer Anbang raised its bid for Starwood Hotels & Resorts to $14bn in its latest effort to trump a rival offer from Marriott International, reported the Financial Times. The Chinese insurer sweetened its all-cash offer to $82.75 per share, a non-binding proposal the US hotel operator said it was likely to consider superior to Marriott’s offer. But Starwood, which owns the Sheraton, W Hotels and Westin brands, stressed that its board was still backing a merger with Marriott. Starwood is reluctant to accept Anbang’s offer amid Chinese media reports that Anbang’s US deals were at risk of being blocked by local regulators.