Waldorf-Astoria Hotel Sold to a Chinese Insurance Company for Nearly $2B

Chinese Insurer Buys Waldorf Astoria for a Record $1.95B (Forbes)

America’s most famous hotel will soon be under Chinese ownership as the Hilton Hotel group todayannounced that it would be selling the Waldorf Astoria to a Chinese insurer for $1.95 billion.

The acquisition by China’s Anbang Insurance Group set a record for the largest acquisition of a U.S. real estate asset by a Chinese buyer, as well as being the most expensive purchase ever of a U.S. hotel. The price paid for the 1,413 room hotel means Anbang committed approximately $1.4 million per room for the art deco landmark.

The deal also heralds the arrival of China’s state-owned insurance companies into the U.S. market, where the country’s private companies are already the leading foreign property buyers.