JW Marriott Essex House New York, New York — Photo by Bloomberg

South Korea's Mirae Asset Financial Group is emerging as the leading bidder for a portfolio of 15 U.S. luxury hotels being sold by troubled Chinese insurer Anbang Insurance Group Co., people with knowledge of the matter said.

An affiliate of Mirae is working to arrange financing and reach an agreement on terms of a purchase, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. An acquisition by the South Korean asset manager could value the 15 properties at more than $5.5 billion, one of the people said.

Anbang hasn't granted exclusivity to Mirae, and at least one other suitor is still actively pursuing the assets, the people said. If talks are successful, Mirae aims to make a nonrefundable deposit by the end of the month, according to one person.

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