Hilton closes on $1.95B sale of Waldorf Astoria New York to Chinese insurer Anbang

Hilton has completed the $1.95 billion sale of the Waldorf Astoria to a Chinese insurance company.

The company will continue to manage the storied New York hotel for the next 100 years as part of an agreement with Anbang Insurance Group Co.

Proceeds from the sale, first announced in October, to buy five properties for $1.76 billion, Hilton said Wednesday. The properties include the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek in Orlando, Florida; the Waldorf Astoria Orlando in Orlando; The Reach, a Waldorf Astoria resort, in Key West, Florida; the Casa Marina, a Waldorf Astoria resort, in Key West and Parc 55 in San Francisco.

Those acquisitions are expected to close this month. Remaining proceeds from the sale of Waldorf Astoria New York sale, estimated at about $100 million, will be used to buy additional assets within the next six months.

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, on Park Avenue in Manhattan, 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. The Waldorf Astoria New York has restaurants including Peacock Alley, Bull and Bear Prime Steakhouse and Oscar's.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., based in McLean, Virginia, was taken private in 2007 by private equity firm Blackstone Group LP. The hotel chain returned to public stock markets in December 2013. The company is the world's largest hotel group with more than 715,000 rooms across 94 countries and territories.

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