US private equity firm Blackstone has hired four banks for a $13 bn (€9.7 bn) debt refinancing of its Hilton hotel chain ahead of an IPO in early 2014, according to US media reports.
US private equity firm Blackstone has hired four banks for a $13 bn (€9.7 bn) debt refinancing of its Hilton hotel chain ahead of an IPO in early 2014, according to US media reports.
The New York-based firm has signed up Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley as the main underwriters for the IPO, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter.
Hilton Worldwide operates more than 4,000 hotels and timeshare properties under around 10 brands, offering more than 650,000 rooms in 90 countries.
It is not clear what kind of valuation Blackstone will seek or how much of its stake in the hotel chain it would sell, but the four banks are expected to refinance Hilton’s $13 bn debt prior to the IPO.
Blackstone acquired Hilton just before the global financial crisis in 2007 for $26.9 bn in cash, including about $7.5 bn of debt.
The deal marked the largest purchase of a hotel chain by a private equity firm and Blackstone's biggest investment in one property platform to date.
