Blackstone to buy Hilton Hotels for $20B

Hilton Hotels Corp. has agreed to an all-cash buyout from The Blackstone Group LP in a $20.1 billion deal that would instantly make Blackstone the world's largest hotel owner. >> Full Story

Thoughts// The Blackstone / Hilton buyout story has been in the press for a few days, however the interesting side note on this story is that Blackstone already is invested in several companies (LaQuinta Inns and LXR Luxury Resorts & Hotels) in the industry, including Travelport, the parent of Orbitz.com and the Galileo global distribution system, which was purchased a year ago from Cendant for $4.3 billion. This latest acquisition creates an interesting corporate relationship between the two travel industry heavyweights.