Shares of hotel operators surged yesterday in the wake of Blackstone Group's deal to buy Beverly Hil

Shares of hotel operators surged yesterday in the wake of Blackstone Group's deal to buy Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Hilton Hotels Corp. for $26 billion, fueling calgary airport hotels speculation that other lodging companies might be the next target for private equity investors.
The proposed purchase is the largest to date in the hotel industry and would make Blackstone the largest hotel operator in the world with more than 583,000 rooms. Hilton operates calgary airport hotels the Hilton Hawaiian Village and other resorts in Hawai'i.
The deal, which took many by surprise, is a "huge endorsement of the hotel industry," said consultant calgary airport hotels Alan Reay at Irvine, Calif.-based Atlas Hospitality Group, noting that the $47.50-a-share offer, announced Tuesday, was a 40 percent premium over Hilton's stock price Monday.
calgary airport hotels Most of the major hotel chains saw their shares rise more than they have in months, if not years. Marriott International rose $3.11, or 7 percent, to $47.57; Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., operator of Sheraton, Westin and W hotels, climbed $5.42, or 7.8 percent, to $74.55.
"Hilton Hotels being acquired by Blackstone Group, no end in sight?" asked CIBC World Markets analyst David Katz in a research note. "This announcement should calgary airport hotels re-spark investors' beliefs that additional private equity buyouts are imminent."
Several suggested that Starwood will be the next company taken private. JPMorgan analyst Harry Curtis noted that like Hilton, Starwood owns and manages assets, including time shares and international properties.
Blackstone, already a major owner of commercial real estate, has said it views Hilton as an important strategic investment and doesn't plan on significant divestitures. In April, however, it agreed to sell its Extended Stay hotel chain for $8 billion, three years after buying the business.
Hilton Hotels was founded in 1919 by Conrad calgary airport hotels Hilton with one hotel in Cisco, Texas. The company is now the world's fourth-largest hotelier with 2,800 hotels in 76 countries. Its brands include Hilton, Conrad Hotels, Doubletree, Hampton Inns and Waldorf-Astoria.