SEOUL-- A consortium led by South Korea's leading asset management firm Mirae Asset Global Investments said Thursday it has won a legal battle with China's Anbang Insurance Group over a deal to purchase hotels in the United States.

In September 2019, the consortium signed a contract to take over 15 hotels in the U.S. from the Chinese firm for US$5.8 billion, but it cancelled the deal in May last year, claiming Anbang did not fulfill its obligations.

Mirae Asset has accused Anbang of not disclosing it was sued over the ownership of those hotels before the deal was inked and failing to respond to its request for relevant information.

Anbang filed a suit with a court in the U.S. state of Delaware over the matter, which ruled in favor of the consortium. The Chinese insurer appealed, but the Supreme Court in the state has upheld the ruling, according to Mirae Asset.

The ruling will allow the consortium to have the contract money worth about $580 million returned as well as being compensated for expenses associated with the legal disputes, according to Mirae Asset.

Source: Yonhap News Agency