Hotel giant Hilton Worldwide has raised $2.34 billion (£1.42 billion) through an initial public offering, returning to the stock market six years after private equity firm Blackstone took it private in one of the largest deals of the leveraged buyout boom.
Hilton, whose brands include Conrad Hotels and Resorts — named after the group’s founder, Conrad Hilton — and Waldorf Astoria, priced its shares at $20, within the expected range, and gave the world’s largest hotel operator a market value of $19.7 billion. Rivals Marriott and Starwood are valued at just under $14 billion. Trading in Hilton shares began today.
Hilton, whose hotel in Park Lane dominates the Mayfair skyline, was taken private by Blackstone in 2007 for $26.7 billion, including debt, at the height of the market.
The amount raised through the Hilton float is more than the $2.1 billion Twitter raised through its stock market offering last month.
