Marriott takeover on the rocks after Starwood receives unsolicited offer

Marriott International is set to face a battle in its takeover of Starwood Hotels & Resorts following a last minute bid from a Chinese-led consortium of investors.

The deal for Marriott’s $12.2bn (£8bn) takeover was expected to be completed later this year, however Starwood has confirmed it has received an offer, led by Anbang Insurance Group, which values the company at $13bn (£9.2bn).

Starwood confirmed that it has received a waiver from Marriott enabling it to enter discussions with the consortium, which expires on Thursday.

In a statement, Marriott confirmed its commitment to merge with Starwood stating it is “confident” the previously announced merger agreement is the “best course” for both companies.

Meanwhile, Starwood has stated that its board of directors has not changed its recommendation in support of Starwood’s merger with Marriott – which would create what is thought would be the world’s largest hotel company, with more than 5,500 hotels and 1.1 million rooms across the world.

However, Starwood did add that it will “carefully consider” the outcome of its discussions with the consortium in order to determine the course of action that is in the “best interest of Starwood and its stockholders”.

It added there are a number of matters to be resolved in the consortium’s proposal.