Las Vegas developer is interested in buying Anbang’s hotels

A Las Vegas developer and its partners are eyeing Anbang’s hotel portfolio.

Lockwood Development Partners has expressed interest in buying 15 hotels from the Beijing-based company, the New York Post reported. Franchisees of Hilton, Marriott, Four Seasons and InterContinental are in the Everhardt bidding group.

Anbang, which was recently taken over by the Chinese government, owns 18 hotels in the U.S. The developer said Anbang is asking for bids based on the rate of return on hotel income, the report said. Its portfolio includes Essex House in Manhattan, but it’s unclear whether it’s for sale — and which of the 18 properties will be included.

The Waldorf Astoria is not among those for sale, the report said.

Anbang has been approaching prospective buyers directly, since the pool of investors who can snag the entire portfolio is limited. In May, its former chairman, Wu Xiaohui, was sentenced to 18 years in prison after being convicted of fraud and embezzlement.

Other Chinese companies have also been seeking to offload real estate assets amid government pressure. HNA Group is in talks to sell  850 Third Avenue. [NYP] — Meenal Vamburkar