Hilton ups the ante for control of ITT
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The battle for control of ITT Corporation was re-ignited yesterday when Hilton Hotels Corporation announced that it was significantly increasing the value of its hostile bid for the group to a sky-high $70 a share.
The manoeuvre, ordered by Hilton's combative chief executive, Stephen Bollenbach, represents one more attempt at overcoming the various defensive moves adopted by ITT in recent weeks aimed at defeating the bid.
The proposed stock and cash transaction has a value of $8.3bn (pounds 5.3bn) which grows to $11.5bn once assumption of ITT debt is taken into account. At that level, it would represent a 64 per cent premium over ITT's trading price when Hilton made its first move with a $55-a-share bid in January.
The bid's chances seemed to fade somewhat over recent weeks, notably after ITT announced last month that it was splitting itself into three and initiating a stock buy-back. Previously, ITT moved to sell some of its hotels that it believed were most attractive to Hilton in the first place.
The new Hilton pitch is likely to reinvigorate the struggle, however, as many ITT shareholders consider the latest offer on the table. If successful, the takeover would create a Goliath in the hotel, gambling and entertainment industry.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments