Anbang withdraw offer for Starwood Hotels

Chinese insurance firm Anbang has dropped its takeover offer for Starwood Hotels in a surprise statement this morning, allowing Marriott hotel group to become the leading bidder.

The statement from Starwood said the offer was withdrawn due to “market considerations”, and Anbang “does not intend to make another proposal.”

Starwood’s Board of Directors reiterated that it would continue to unanimously support the merger with Marriott International. Bruce Duncan, Chairman of Starwood’s Board, commented:

“Throughout this process, we have been focused on maximizing stockholder value now and in the future. Our Board is confident this transaction offers superior value for Starwood’s stockholders, can close quickly, and provides value-creation potential that will enable both sets of stockholders to benefit from future financial performance.”

Sainsbury’s bid backed by Argos owner

British supermarket Sainsbury’s has become the leading bidder in the battle for Home Retail Group, the owner of Argos and Homebase.

Its £1.4 billion pounds offer for Home Retail has been recommended by the Argos board, making the takeover by Sainsbury’s look ever more likely. Their main competitor, South African company Steinhoff International, withdrew last month.

National Living Wage comes into force in the UK

The new National Living Wage comes into force today, requiring employers to pay workers aged 25 and over at least £7.20 an hour.

Announced in George Osborne’s budget last summer, it is expected to raise the wages of 1.3 million workers. However, there are fears that jobs will be lost if businesses – especially smaller ones – cannot afford to pay the workers the new wage, making the move counter productive.

01/04/2016