Mirae Countersue China’s Anbang In $5.8B Hotel Deal Dispute

Mirae Asset Global countersued Anbang Insurance in Delaware over their scrapped US$5.8 billion hotel deal Wednesday, May 20, claiming the purchase agreement didn’t contain a “carve-out” authorizing coronavirus-related closures reported Bloomberg Law.

Anbang “claims it was excused from” keeping hotels open during the pandemic “because others in the industry are conducting hotel operations similarly,” the 143-page filing states. But the deal’s terms are “absolute and unequivocal,” and any “attempt to rewrite the agreement should be rejected.”

The Chinese insurance conglomerate, recently restructured as a Dajia Insurance Group subsidiary, sued Mirae in the Chancery Court late last month, arguing that the South Korean asset manager is trying to “wriggle out” of buying 15 US luxury hotels.

The case is part of a wave of similar suits asking courts to keep mergers on track as acquirers, balking at coronavirus-related risks, scramble deals worldwide.

Some of those cases involve the purchase of Victoria’s Secret; a business unit salefrom Bed Bath & Beyond to 1-800-Flowers; a franchise buyout by CorePower Yoga; a CMX Cinemas merger; and private equity transactions over a cybersecurity company; and the world’s top cake decorations wholesaler.

Full Content: Bloomberg

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