China’s Anbang Insurance Group is reportedly looking to sell its $2.4 billion (£1.9bn) property portfolio in Japan, which it acquired from Blackstone in 2017 for about the same price, according to Reuters.
Reuters has today reported that Anbang is planning to sell the entire portfolio, which mainly consists of residential buildings in Tokyo and other big cities, after it failed to sell some of the assets in 2018.
This is according to people familiar with the insurer’s plans, says Reuters, adding that both Anbang and Blackstone declined to comment on the matter.
One of the sources told Reuters that “the sale process has just started,” and it’s believed that Blackstone is one of the bidders for the entire portfolio, which it sold to Anbang in 2017.
According to Reuters a price has not been set and the sale is still in its early stages. When Anbang acquired the portfolio from Blackstone in 2017, it was at the time the largest property deal in Japan since the global financial crisis.
In 2018, control of Anbang was taken over by the Chinese government, with the country’s insurance regulator citing “illegal business operations.”
Subsequently, the former Chairman of the insurer, Wu Xiaohui, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for fraud and embezzlement.
