Hilton Worldwide said it has entered into an agreement with Chinese insurer Anbang Insurance Group Company to sell its Waldorf Astoria New York hotel for $1.95 billion.

The Waldorf Astoria New York is the flagship hotel of Hilton's rapidly-expanding luxury brand, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts. Since 2007, the brand has increased its footprint more than five times to a portfolio of 27 landmark destinations, including Amsterdam, Beijing, Chicago, Dubai, Jerusalem, Ras Al Khaimah and Shanghai, said a statement from the hospitality group.

Its pipeline of nine additional hotels includes key destinations such as Bali, Bangkok and Beverly Hills.

As part of this long-term strategic partnership, Anbang will grant Hilton Worldwide a management agreement to continue to operate the property for the next 100 years, and the hotel will undergo a major renovation to restore the property to its historic grandeur, said the statement.

A leading provider of a comprehensive range of financial and insurance services and products to more than 20 million customers, Beijing-based Anbang boasts of more than 700 billion yuan ($113 billion) in assets.

"We are very excited to be entering into this long-term relationship with Anbang, which will ensure that the Waldorf Astoria New York represents the brand's world-class standards for generations to come," said Christopher J. Nassetta, the president and CEO of Hilton Worldwide.

"This relationship represents a unique opportunity for our organizations to work together to finally maximize the full value of this iconic asset on a full city block in midtown Manhattan," he added.

Hilton said it intends to use the proceeds from the sale to acquire additional hotel assets in the US in one or more transactions as part of a like-kind exchange under Internal Revenue Code Section 1031. These acquisitions will be finalized and announced at a later date, it added.-TradeArabia News Service