Hotels Attracting Interest From Private Investors
Hotels are attracting big interest from private investors, who seem to value lodging stocks much higher than public markets.
That’s the conclusion many are drawing from a proposal to take the giant Hilton Hotels Corporation (HLT) private in a $26 billion deal. The private equity Blackstone Group (BX) announced late on Tuesday that it will pay $47.50 per share to buy Hilton, a 40% premium over Monday’s closing price.
The “big gap” between private and public markets “is not sustainable,” Robert LaFleur, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group, wrote in a report on Thursday. Either hotel stocks rise, or private equity will buy up the whole hotel space, he says. Read more