Mirae Asset's "7 Trillion Won Hotel Lawsuit Battle," First Trial in August... "All-Out Effort Begins"

US Court Accepts China Anbang Insurance's Request for Expedited Trial
Mirae Asset Prepares Full-Scale Battle... Four Domestic and International Law Firms Mobilized

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The first trial in the lawsuit between Mirae Asset Financial Group and China's Anbang Insurance over the acquisition contract of 15 luxury hotels worth 7 trillion won in the United States will be held in August. Initially, Mirae Asset requested the trial to start after next year, but the U.S. court accepted Anbang Insurance's request for expedited proceedings.

On the 11th, Anbang Insurance stated in a press release, "The Delaware Court of Chancery in the U.S. issued a decision on the 8th (local time) approving Anbang Insurance's request for expedited proceedings," adding, "This decision was made after the presiding judge reviewed all of Mirae Asset's opposing arguments regarding Anbang Insurance's application." Mirae Asset had requested the trial to be held early next year to collect evidence on Anbang Insurance's contract violations, but Anbang Insurance's request for expedited handling was accepted.

Previously, in September last year, Mirae Asset contracted to acquire 15 hotels and resorts in 9 major U.S. cities owned by Anbang Insurance. The acquisition price was $5.8 billion (approximately 7 trillion 90 billion won), marking the largest alternative investment by a domestic financial company. When the remaining payment was not made by the closing date, Anbang Insurance filed a lawsuit on the 28th of last month at the Delaware Court of Chancery demanding Mirae Asset Global Investments fulfill the contract. In response, Mirae Asset notified contract termination on the 3rd, claiming Anbang Insurance violated the contract.

Anbang Insurance stated, "The presiding judge noted that if time is delayed, the damages caused by this case may be irreparable, and clarified that the core of this case concerns the contract content itself and its legal interpretation." They continued, "The court judged that the allegedly fraudulent contract documents, which Mirae Asset is raising as an issue, are likely the work of fraudsters and that extensive evidence disclosure procedures are unnecessary." Accordingly, the trial is scheduled to be held over three days starting August 24.

Meanwhile, Mirae Asset plans to mount an all-out effort against the lawsuit filed by Anbang Insurance. To this end, they have appointed the international dispute law firm 'Peter & Kim' and the U.S. law firm 'Quinn Emanuel.' Additionally, the U.S. law firm 'Greenberg Traurig,' which advised during the sales contract negotiations, and the domestic law firm 'Yulchon' will also support the litigation.

Mirae Asset's position is that Anbang Insurance violated the contract by failing to secure the 'title insurance,' a precondition for closing the transaction, by the scheduled closing date of the 17th of last month. Mirae Asset stated, "Four insurance companies, including the largest U.S. title insurance company 'Fidelity National,' as well as 'First American,' 'Old Republic,' and 'Stewart,' all refused to issue complete title insurance for the 15 hotels subject to sale," adding, "This is because Anbang Insurance was sued in the Delaware court regarding ownership of the hotels." Anbang Insurance allegedly did not disclose the existence of this lawsuit, and Mirae Asset discovered it first in February, leading to the contract termination request.

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