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Blackstone Group sells off remaining stake in Hilton
After nearly 11 years as major shareholder, Blackstone Group is checking out of Hilton.
Blackstone is selling its remaining 5.67% in a privately negotiated transaction and Hilton said it would buy back another 1.25 million shares.
The deal is worth about $1.3 billion.
Blackstone has been gradually cashing out its Hilton equity since 2014 and sold 25% to Chinese conglomerate HNA Tourism Group for $6.5 billion, which was three times what it paid when taking Hilton private in a leveraged buyout in 2007.
HNA itself agreed to sell part of its Hilton stake to relieve mounting debts.
Over the course of the 11 years, Blackstone has reaped about $14 billion in profit, a huge turnaround for the industry, especially as it came just before the financial crisis.
"The steep revenue declines could have easily dissuaded us, but the continued commitment of the entire firm paid off in a big way," Blackstone president Jonathan Gray said.
"We saw a ton of white space in Europe and China for this company, and our thesis held together through the crisis and that’s what gave us confidence."
Gray acknowledged it was ‘initially a very difficult investment’ but it has turned out to be the most profitable leveraged buyout ever.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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