Barings Eyes Sale of Marco Island Resort for Nearly $1 Billion

Barings, the more than $456 billion asset management arm of insurer MassMutual, is exploring the sale of the JW Marriott Marco Island, a luxury resort on Florida’s Gulf Coast, in a sign that the market for hotel transactions is perking up.

The more than 800-room hotel, situated on a rare inhabited island in the largely wild, subtropical Everglades ecosystem, is expected to be valued at close to $1 billion in a potential sale, according to a person familiar with the marketing effort who asked not to be identified citing private information.

Barings is working with Jones Lang LaSalle ...