Chinese insurer Anbang continues its shopping spree as it challenges Marriott International's bid for rival hotelier Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide with a staggering $14 billion cash offer.

On Monday, Starwood confirmed that Anbang-led consortium has indeed offered a deal with the value of $76 per share, outpricing Marriott's cash-and-stock offer in Novembe at $63.74, which equated to $10.8 billion, The Guardian reported. Marriott was initially worth $12 billion, but its value dropped because the price of its shares plummeted by six percent following the offer.

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Starwood's board of directors revealed that they are carefully considering the proposal from Anbang, although they claim that it has not changed their initial Starwood-Marriott merger recommendation. The board stated that there are also still a number of things to consider before settling on Anbang's proposal.

The luxury hotelier said that stakeholders of Marriott and Starwood will meet to cast their votes on March 28.  Starwood, which is also backed by private equity firms JC Flowers & Co and Primavera Capital Group, claims it has received a waiver from Marriott, allowing it to openly engage in discussions with Anbang until March 18.

"Anbang's non-binding offer places Starwood shareholders in a difficult position of choosing between Marriott's bird-in-a-hand firm commitment and Anbang's two-in-the-bush offer," Harry Curtis, Nomura Securities analyst wrote in a note to clients.

According to DW, if Starwood decides to back away with its initial deal or pull out its recommendation to vote its sales to Marriott, Starwood will have to pay a termination fee of $400 million.

Anbang Insurance Group has been taking major strides in the hotel industry. Just days ago, it agreed to acquire Blackstone's Strategic Hotels & Resorts for $6.5 billion. In 2014, the company has also purchased New York's Waldorf Astoria for nearly $2 billion.

TagsAnbang, Marriott Hotel, Starwood Hotels, hotel industry, Acquisition, merging