As he summoned executives to his 26th-floor office on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue last month, Wu Xiaohui seemed to have achieved the improbable feat of transforming himself from a low-level regional bureaucrat into one of China’s most politically-connected global tycoons before the age of 50. Now he was ready for his most ambitious act yet.
The chairman of Anbang, a fast-moving but little understood Chinese insurer, had acquired his US headquarters with views of some of New York’s greatest properties only last year. Now, just a block from the St Regis Hotel — John Jacob Astor’s 1904 temple to hospitality — he presented his team with a proposal: a $13bn deal that would make him the operator not only of that historic property but also its parent, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, owner of the W, Westin and Sheraton brands.
The problem was that Starwood had already rebuffed Mr Wu three times, in August, September and November, dissatisfied with details of the Chinese group’s bid, including its financing. Since then, Starwood had agreed a mostly stock-based sale to Marriott International, a US rival, in a deal initially worth $12.2bn but which had slumped in value as markets slid.