Hilton has confirmed that its initial public offering would raise up to $2.37 billion in the biggest-ever hotel group IPO.
The hotel group is expected to launch its initial public offering this month, and the sale of about 11.5% of its shares would value the company at up to $32.5 billion, including debt.
Private equity giant Blackstone took Hilton private in 2007 for $26.7 billion, including debt, in one of the largest leveraged buyouts before the 2008 global financial crisis.
Blackstone has invested about $6.8 billion in Hilton, and its 76.2% stake after the IPO will be worth up to $15.7 billion. It is not selling any shares in the offering.
Hilton will be the second-biggest IPO in 2013 after oil pipeline holding company Plains GP Holdings, which raised $2.82 billion and ahead of Twitter, which raised $1.82 billion.
Hyatt Hotels raised about $950 million in 2009 in the previous biggest hotel IPO.
Another Blackstone-backed hotel company, Extended Stay America, raised about $565 million last month. Blackstone also plans an IPO of hotel chain La Quinta, sources told Reuters last week.
Hilton expects to price the offering of 112.8 million shares at between $18 and $21 per share, giving the company an equity value of $20.7 billion, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday.
Hilton is selling 64.1 million shares in the offering, raising about $1.3 billion at the top end of the price range. Shareholders will offer the remaining 48.7 million shares.
The IPO could raise $2.72 billion if underwriters exercise their rights to buy another 16.9 million shares, the Daily Telegraph reported.
The company said it would use the proceeds from the offering to repay $1.25 billion of its total debt of $11.8 billion as of September 30.
Hilton operates in 90 countries with 4,041 hotels, or 665,667 rooms. The company itself owns or leases 157 hotels, including the Waldorf Astoria in New York and the Hilton Hawaiian Village.