BEIJING: A Chinese insurer has agreed to buy New York's luxurious Baccarat Hotel for a whopping USD 230 million, setting a record for the most expensive hotel deal on a per-room basis at over USD two million.
Beijing-based Sunshine Insurance Group will pay real- estate mogul Barry Sternlicht's firm more than USD two million a room for the the 114-room mid-town Manhattan property, state-run China Radio International reported today.
The valuation is more than the Plaza Hotel, which was sold to India's Sahara Group in 2012 for just over USD two million a room, it said.
It is expected that Chinese companies will spend more than USD five billion on hotel investments abroad this year.
Chinese companies spent USD 920 million last year, it said.
The opulent hotel will open its doors next month.
Sunshine Insurance Group was founded in 2005 and has since expanded to include departments on asset management and life insurance. The firm agreed to acquire a Sheraton hotel in Sydney, Australia, for USD 380 million in November.