Chinese insurer Anbang will buy Strategic Hotels & Resorts for $6.5 billion from Blackstone, which bought the US luxury hotel group three months ago, a person close to the matter told AFP Monday.

The deal was revealed just as news broke that an Anbang-led consortium has also offered $12.8 billion to buy Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, pressuring Starwood's agreed acquisition by Marriott International.