Anbang Insurance Group is close to buying residential property assets in Japan from Blackstone Group LP, its first foray in the country since a failed bid for an asset manager last year, people familiar with the matter said.
A deal may be signed as early as this week for the assets worth about $2.3 billion, one of the people said, asking not to be identified before an announcement is made. It will be Anbang’s first property purchase in Japan after its failed bid for property asset manager Simplex Asset Management last year, another person said.
Anbang, one of China’s biggest insurers, has been on a deal-making spree since its purchase of the iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel in 2014. It wouldn’t be Anbang’s first purchase from Blackstone, which is selling assets it bought from General Electric Co. in 2014. Earlier this year, Anbang agreed to buy Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. from the New York-based investment firm for about $6.5 billion.
A Beijing-based Anbang press official and a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman at Blackstone declined to comment on the possible transaction, which was reported earlier on Monday by Reuters.
News by Bloomberg, edited by Hospitality Ireland
