Starwood Hotels & Resorts has received a higher $14bn (£9.8bn) takeover offer from a group led by Chinese consortium, Anbang Insurance Group Co, raising the stakes for Marriott International, to counter a second time to salvage a merger that would create the world’s largest hotel operator.
Marriott had offered $13.6bn (£9.5bn) but Starwood said it’s in talks with the Anbang group after receiving a non-binding offer of $82.75 (£58) a share in cash.
Marriott has reaffirmed its commitment to acquiring Starwood, and has said it expects annual cost savings of about $250m (£175m) from buying the group, up from its initial estimate of $200m (£140m).