Mirae Asset wins U.S. lawsuit against China's Anbang on scrapped $5.8 bln hotel deal

Mirae Asset Securities

01/12/2020 05:40

SEOUL, Dec 1 (Reuters) - South Korean investment bank Mirae
Asset Daewoo Co Ltd  006800.KS  said on Tuesday it won a U.S.
court case against Anbang Insurance Group, after Mirae Asset
affiliates scrapped a $5.8 billion deal to buy 15 U.S. hotels
from Anbang. 
    A consortium led by Mirae agreed last year to buy the hotels
from Anbang, which had been selling some of its overseas assets
after the Chinese government took control of the troubled
insurer in 2018.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2CM0S0
    But the coronavirus pandemic put several deals at risk this
year, as the tourism industry was one of the hardest hit by
global travel restrictions. 
    Anbang had filed a suit saying Mirae Asset affiliates must
fulfill their promised payment for the hotels, while Mirae
affiliates filed a counterclaim that Anbang return the deposit,
pay transaction costs, and related litigation costs, Mirae said
in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. 
    A Delaware court on Monday rejected Anbang's claims for
payment and ruled Anbang should return the deposit and pay
expenses of $3.685 million, according to the court document
reviewed by Reuters. 
    Anbang has been liquidated and some of its assets have been
revamped into a new entity called Dajia Insurance Group. A Dajia
official could not be reached immediately.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2GB344
    Shares in Mirae Asset rose 6% in Seoul on Tuesday.

 (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Cheng Leng in
Beijing; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
 ((jungyoon.lee@tr.com; +82 2 6936 1467;))