Blackstone lines up Wall Street banks to float Hilton hotel chain
WALL Street private equity giant Blackstone is set to float top hotel chain Hilton Worldwide after appointing a roster of banks to prepare a deal.
Hilton, which was taken private by Blackstone in a $27bn (£17.4bn) mega leveraged buyout in 2007, has nearly 4,000 properties around the world.
The hotel group has appointed Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley to help lead a sale.
It is thought any float would come in the first half of 2014.
Hilton is also thought to currently be lining up a $13bn debt refinancing to help get the float away.
The banks preparing the initial public offering are also thought to be working on the debt deal.
Blackstone took over Hilton, which was founded in 1919, during the booming buyout era before the financial crisis, in one of the largest buyouts ever.