Waldorf Astoria In New York Sold To Chinese Firm For $1.95 Billion

[Purveyor]

Source: LA TIMES

New York's iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel will be getting a face-lift and a new owner, its parent company announced Monday.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. says it is selling the grand hotel to Chinese insurance company Anbang Insurance Group Co., for $1.95 billion.

The hotel is slated to undergo a “major renovation” to restore it to its “historic grandeur,” said Hilton Worldwide, which will continue to operate the property under a 100-year management agreement with Anbang.

“We are very excited to be entering into this long-term relationship with Anbang, which will ensure that the Waldorf Astoria New York represents the brand’s world-class standards for generations to come,” said Hilton Worldwide CEO Christopher J. Nassetta in a statement.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hilton-sells-waldorf-astoria-20141006-story.html

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Waldorf to Be Biggest Chinese Property Purchase in U.S.

By David M. Levitt Oct 6, 2014 1:24 PM ET

New York City’s Waldorf Astoria hotel is set to become the biggest prize yet for buyers from China who have been pouring money into U.S. real estate as they seek stable investments outside their country.

Beijing’s Anbang Insurance Group Co. agreed to pay $1.95 billion for the 1,232-room tower on Park Avenue, an Art Deco landmark and one of Manhattan’s signature properties. That would be the highest price for a single existing hotel in the country, and the most paid for a standing U.S. building by a Chinese buyer, said Kevin Mallory, global head of the hotels unit of commercial real estate brokerage CBRE Group Inc. (CBG)

“We’re seeing a diversification strategy being employed by insurance companies and others, and it’s also true when it comes to private Chinese investors,” he said in a telephone interview. “We’ve seen a lot of wealth generated there over the last decade, and we see see private investors diversifying their portfolio around the globe.”

more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-06/waldorf-to-be-biggest-chinese-property-purchase-in-u-s-.html

[SpankMe]

1. And the right wing starts blaming Obama in 3...2....1..... n/t

[SoapBox]

3. It's Benghazi...right?

All while the billionaires continue to exploit the Chinese labor market.

[ballyhoo]

2. This is huge. I hope this is not the Black Swan event

Wall Street traders are looking for. I keep hearing it all the time now.

[7962]

4. Remember in the 80's when the Japanese were buying everything?

They ended up overpaying for just about everything and taking a bath on a lot of it. I see the same for the Chinese in the future.

[davidpdx]

7. I hope you are right

While there were security concerns with the Japanese, they are not near as bad as with the Chinese. See my Post #6 on the railroad track and diplomats.

[KamaAina]

5. Good thing I can stay in Mom and Republican Stepdad's back room

twenty or so blocks north.

edit: P.S. The room is filled with books about military history. It can be quite unsettling to wake up surrounded by books about Nazis.

[davidpdx]

6. Two things that neither article mentions and were brought up in a segment by Maddow

Is that, first there is a railroad track below the hotel that is used for private guests including the president and other world diplomats. Second, the US UN Ambassador lives at the Waldorf Astoria. It sounds like that practice may have to change.

[7962]

9. Wow, I didnt know either of those facts!

[kelliekat44]

8. Is their any piece of the US that "patriotic" corporate America isn't willing to sell or sell out?

Why worry, anyway. Almost every single food chain in the US is owned by foreigners...some of the favorites in the south and mid-west...those ultra "red" wrapped in-the-flag states. If they only knew...