Mirae Asset "Transaction Delay Due to Anbang Insurance's Mistake in China"

7 Trillion Won US Hotel Acquisition Battle
No Issues in Funding Payment... "Anbang Insurance Actually Breached Sales Contract"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Mirae Asset Financial Group has denied that the delay in acquiring a $7 trillion-scale luxury hotel in the United States is due to China's Anbang Insurance. Both sides are expected to escalate their disputes as Mirae Asset is preparing a countersuit against the lawsuit filed by Anbang Insurance.

On the 28th, Mirae Asset Asset Management rebutted Anbang Insurance's lawsuit demanding the completion of the transaction, stating, "Anbang Insurance first violated the preconditions and failed to pay the transaction amount," and added, "The financing is proceeding normally."

Earlier, Anbang Insurance filed a lawsuit on the previous day at the Delaware Court of Chancery in the United States against Mirae Asset Global Investments, demanding the fulfillment of the hotel acquisition contract agreed upon last year. The transaction was originally scheduled to be completed by the 17th, but as the payment was delayed, Anbang Insurance demanded its fulfillment. Bloomberg reported that "Anbang Insurance believes Mirae Asset has not secured favorable conditions for financing due to the impact of COVID-19," and "Mirae Asset requested more time because raising funds through bond issuance was difficult."

However, Mirae Asset claims that financing is proceeding without any issues and that Anbang Insurance violated the terms of the sales contract by failing to meet the preconditions for closing the transaction.

Mirae Asset explained, "During the due diligence process after being selected as the preferred bidder, we confirmed that there was a specific lawsuit related to the transaction between Anbang Insurance and a third party," and added, "We continuously requested documents from Anbang Insurance regarding this, but they did not provide any explanatory materials." Furthermore, they stated, "On the 17th, we notified Anbang Insurance that if the contract violations were not resolved within 15 days, we would have the right to terminate the sales contract, and we are currently waiting for the issue to be resolved by May 2, when this period ends."

In addition, Mirae Asset is preparing a countersuit against the lawsuit filed by Anbang Insurance. A Mirae Asset official explained, "During the mutual negotiations on transaction conditions affected by COVID-19, Anbang Insurance caused a fault, and we will take legal action accordingly."

Meanwhile, Mirae Asset signed a contract last September to acquire 15 hotels and resorts in 9 major U.S. cities owned by Anbang Insurance. According to Bloomberg, the acquisition price is $5.8 billion (approximately 7 trillion 900 billion KRW), making it the largest alternative investment by a domestic financial company to date. Included are the New York JW Marriott Essex House Hotel, Four Seasons Hotel in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, The Westin St. Francis in San Francisco, and Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.