A consortium led by South Korea's Mirae Asset Global Investments has agreed to buy 15 hotels in the US from Chinese troubled insurer Anbang Insurance Group, reported Reuters.

The hotels are in cities including New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, Mirae Asset Global Investments, an asset management arm of Mirae Asset Group, said in a statement.

"The size of the deal is about $5.8bn and the deal is expected to be closed by end of January next year," a source with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters.

The deal was struck more than one year after the Chinese insurance group had begun marketing the set of 15 high-end hospitality properties

Anbang had been one of China's most acquisitive companies, signing over $30bn of deals in recent years. But in February last year, the Chinese government took control over the firm, part of a campaign to reduce financial risk. The insurer has been selling off assets to repay a government bailout loan. Anbang's former chairman, Wu Xiaohu, was sentenced last year to 18 years in prison for fraud and embezzlement.