Hilton Selling New York's Waldorf Astoria For $1.95B

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Hilton Worldwide is selling the Waldorf Astoria New York to Chinese insurance company Anbang Insurance Group Co. for $1.95 billion.

Hilton will continue to manage the storied hotel for the next 100 years as part of an agreement with Anbang.

The Park Avenue hotel has restaurants including Peacock Alley, Bull and Bear Prime Steakhouse and Oscar's. The companies said Monday that the property will undergo a major renovation.

In March 1893, millionaire William Waldorf Astor opened the 13-story Waldorf Hotel. The Astoria Hotel opened four years later. The Waldorf Astoria New York opened in 1931, according to the company's website. At the time it was the largest hotel in the world. The hotel became an official New York City landmark in 1993.

Hilton Worldwide plans to use proceeds from the hotel's sale to buy additional hotel assets in the U.S.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. was taken private in 2007 by private equity firm Blackstone Group LP. The hotel chain returned to public stock markets in December 2013. The McLean, Virginia, company is the world's largest hotel group with more than 690,000 rooms across 93 countries and territories.

Aside from Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, its brands include Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton and Embassy Suites Hotels.

You May Also Be Interested In These Stories:

(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)