China's Anbang Insurance group has placed an unsolicited bid to purchase the Starwood hotels, the US chain announced on Monday.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. said that it had received a non-binding proposal from a consortium of companies to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Starwood for $76.00 per share in cash.

The company already being courted for a proposed merger by Marriott, said in a statement that it "will carefully consider the outcome of its discussions with the consortium in order to determine the course of action."

Anbang, which once specialized in car insurance, stormed onto the international property market by acquiring New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel for nearly $2 billion a year ago.