Blackstone Checks Out of Hilton with $18 Billion Windfall

Blackstone Group’s Hilton stay is finally up. The private equity and property giant is selling the last of its Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc shares, in a sweep that will see Blackstone gain more than $14 billion ($18 billion) in profit.

The landmark sale marks the most lucrative private equity deal on record, as Blackstone sell their 15.8 million shares valued around $1.3 billion ($1.73 billion).

Proving they live up to their company motto of “buy it, fix it, sell it,” the sale marks an end to the 11-year deal that sees Blackstone more than triple their investment.

Blackstone President Jonathan Gray arranged the Hilton deal in 2007 after taking Hilton private in a $26 billion leveraged buyout.

At that time it was the biggest cheque Blackstone had written, with the firm’s real estate and private equity funds putting up some $6.5 billion of equity.

Blackstone started its pursuit of Hilton in 2006, naming the transaction “Project Murphy” after actor Eddie Murphy, who starred in the 1984 movie Beverly Hills Cop. At the time, the Hilton group was still headquartered in California’s Beverly Hills.

Blackstone has gradually released its Hilton holdings since 2014 in 12 separate transactions. Hilton said it will not receive any proceeds from the sale and plans to buy 1.25 million shares from Blackstone.

The shares were trading at $83.57 on 18 May in New York.

Blackstone was named the world’s top owner of office space in 2017. The property heavyweight own 230 million square feet of global office space with $US300 billion ($450 billion) of assets under management.