Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has sold the Sheraton on the Park hotel in Sydney, Australia, to Beijing-based Sunshine Insurance Group Corporation (SIG) for AUS$463m ($399.0m).
Starwood will continue to operate the hotel as a Sheraton under a long-term management contract.
The hotel is in a prime location opposite Hyde Park in Sydney and claims many industry awards.
"Sheraton on the Park will help diversify our holdings by giving us a trophy asset in Sydney, a leading travel destination and an important financial centre in Asia Pacific," said the unnamed executive director of Sunshine Insurance's acquisition team.
One of China's top 500 companies, SIG has developed rapidly since 2005 when Sunshine Property & Casualty Insurance Company was set up. Sunshine Life Insurance Company was established in 2007 and Sunshine Asset Management Company in 2012.
Starwood said the transaction was part of its "asset-light strategy." Simon Turner, president of global development for Starwood, said the sale of the "iconic" hotel underscored "the tremendous value of this property in a high-barrier-to-entry market," and he looked forward "to working closely with SIG to ensure its continued success."
Last month, Anbang Insurance Group of China agreed to buy the Waldorf Astoria New York from Hilton Worldwide Holdings for $1.95bn.
Channels:SAA/ALM
People:Simon Turner
