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Hilton Gets Sold!

While Bill Marriott was scheming with Ian Schrager to create a boutique brand for Marriott Hotels, Stephen Bollenbach, (right) the CEO of Hilton Hotels had something up his sleeves as well.

On July 3, Hilton Hotels Corp. announced they have agreed to sell their company for $26 billion (including debts) to the Blackstone Group, LP, who already have stakes in LXR Luxury Resorts and La Quinta Inns.

Some more financial info about the deal:

Blackstone's $47.50-a-share offer is 32 percent more than Hilton's closing price before the announcement. It's almost quadruple what Hilton was worth when Bollenbach took over. During the same period, the Standard & Poor's 500 index doubled.

If the deal is approved by the other Hilton shareowners, Blackstone will take over all of Hilton brands--from the flagships to the Waldorf-Astoria Collection and the extended stay brands like Doubletree in between. Meanwhile, Bollenbach who likely had a large involvement in structuring the deal, will be stepping down from Hilton at the end of the year.

We highly doubt this new ownership would change your Hilton experience so there's nothing new to expect on this front yet.

Of course, we'll be monitoring any changes in the future but today we're just grumpy they released this news on Tuesday afternoon before the 4th of July, while we were shopping for beach umbrellas and suntan lotion. Grrr....

Related Stories:
· Blackstone, Hilton deal is marriage of titans [USA Today]
· Hilton's Bollenbach Ends Decade of Deals With Hilton Hotel Sale [Bloomberg]