by Itunuoluwa Adebo

Business talks between Jared Kushner’s family and a Chinese company seeking a stake in a Fifth Avenue sky-scraper are over.

The Kushner Companies confirmed on Wednesday that negotiations with Anbang Insurance Group to help fund redevelopment of the family’s office tower on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue have ended.  The association had drawn attention and criticism from lawmakers and government ethics experts who saw it as a potential attempt by China to get favor in the White House.

Kushner Trump’s son-in-law and a senior adviser, stepped down as CEO of the real estate company in January and has sold stakes in several properties, including 666 Fifth Ave, to smoothen ruffled feathers, only that the decision was reached by both parties. He said that Kushner Companies is still negotiating with other potential investors.

Kushner Companies bought the property in 2007 for a reported $1.8bn when Jared Kushner was running the business. It soon became apparent that Kushner had overpaid. The debt taken on to land the property nearly crippled the company during the financial crisis. In 2011, Kushner Companies sold a stake in the 41-floor building to Vornado Realty Trust.

It was widely reported that Anbang was considering a $4bn deal to help Kushner refurbish 666 Fifth Ave.

Itunuoluwa