Few companies sum up China’s offshore acquisition frenzy more than Anbang Insurance Group, the country’s largest unlisted insurer.
The company’s failed attempt to buy the Starwood hotel group was one of the most discussed deals of 2016, fuelling questions about the ability of Chinese buyers to close mega takeovers. That deal, as well as its $6.5 billion acquisition of Strategic Hotels and Resorts, made the company a poster-child for a Chinese offshore acquisition binge that broke all records.
In this context, Anbang executives could be forgiven for feeling a little hard done by when China’s government clamped down on offshore acquisitions last year. The country’s central...