Hilton Hotels earnings rise on higher rates

(Reuters) - Excluding one-time items, including a gain from the sale of
the Scandic hotel chain, the company said it posted
second-quarter earnings of 38 cents per share.




On July 3, Hilton agreed to be acquired by Blackstone for
$47.50 a share in cash, or about $20 billion, in what would be
the largest private equity buyout of a hotel company.



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Orbitz shares fall 2 percent in NYSE debut

(Reuters) - Orbitz shares were down 45 cents at $14.55 in morning New York Stock Exchange trade, in a broadly lower market, after dipping as low as $14.25.




Blackstone's shares fell 4.3 percent to $26.16 after dropping to $26.05, their lowest point since the company's $4 billion initial public offering in June.


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Being German may be key to Continental getting VDO

(Reuters) - A deal would transform the German car parts group, eclipsing
its 1998 Teves purchase that helped turn the world's No. 4
tyremaker into a leading high-margin electronic brakes supplier.
All Wennemer has to do is persuade Peter Loescher, the new
Siemens CEO, to abandon plans to float VDO and bury any thought
of a sale to TRW Automotive Holdings and its owner, The
Blackstone Group , for a reported 12 billion euros.




But first Wennemer may need to change his spots.


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Continental bid for VDO nears 11 bln eur - source

(Reuters) - Continental declined comment.



Private equity firm The Blackstone Group with its U.S. car parts unit TRW Automotive Holdings Corp are also set to bid for VDO, people familiar with the matter have said.


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Apollo mulling private exchange listing: report

(Reuters) - Apollo, founded by former investment banker Leon Black, may take this route to bypass the scrutiny of being a public company.




As it would in an initial public offering, Apollo will be able to raise permanent capital with its Goldman Sachs exchange listing, and give its founders a way to cash out, the report said. But it will not exactly go public, as rival private equity firm Blackstone Group LP and hedge fund Fortress Investment Group LLC have done through listings on the New York Stock Exchange in recent months.


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KfW prefers long-term investors for stakes-paper

(Reuters) - But the bank chief also warned against stigmatising
financial investors and said the sale of 4.5 percent in Telekom
to Blackstone showed that KfW would not rule out certain
potential investors out of hand.




KfW holds 16.9 percent of Telekom and 30.6 percent of Post.


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Blackstone partners may avoid tax on IPO gains

(Reuters) - The company expects these benefits to total $863.7 million over 15 years, the filing said.




The Times said Blackstone partners would get back about $200 million more than the $553 million they paid in tax. The paper did not explain how it arrived at those figures.


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Akamai Technologies Will Replace Biomet in the S&P 500 Index, S&P Says

(Bloomberg) -- Akamai Technologies Inc., whose
software speeds the delivery of Internet data, will replace
Biomet Inc. in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, S&P said today
in a statement posted on its Web site.

Biomet agreed in June to an $11.4 billion takeover offer
from buyout firms including Blackstone Group LP and the private-
equity arm of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The change will take
place after the close of trading on July 11, S&P said.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Hilton's real estate secures rich deal price

(Reuters) - That's particularly true when the target owns appealing
properties, allowing the deal to be funded through commercial
mortgage-backed securities as well as corporate debt.




Add to the mix assets that line up well next to others
accumulated in the current buyout boom, and the case can be
made for Blackstone paying 25 percent above the record high for
a stock that had already roughly tripled in the previous five
years.


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Hilton Shares Gained Most Since 2005 Before $20 Billion Takeover Agreement

(Bloomberg) -- Hilton Hotels Corp.'s stock price
surged prior to the announcement that the second-largest U.S.
hotel chain will be acquired by New York-based Blackstone Group
LP for about $20 billion in cash.

Hilton shares climbed $2.18, or 6.4 percent, to $36.05
yesterday in New York, their biggest rally since 2005. After the
close of trading, Blackstone, the world's biggest publicly traded
buyout firm, said it will pay $47.50 a share for Beverly Hills,
California-based Hilton.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

UPDATE 1-Hilton would pay $560 mln Blackstone break-up fee

(Reuters) - Blackstone, which agreed to buy Hilton for about $20
billion plus debt, will pay Hilton $660 million if it backs out
of the deal, Hilton said in a filing with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission.




Break-up fees are customary in takeover deals and are put
in place to dissuade the sides from walking away.


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Hilton Stock, Options Trading Surged Before Blackstone Takeover Announced

(Bloomberg) -- Hilton Hotels Corp. shares rose the
most since the end of 2005 before the second-largest U.S. hotel
chain announced its agreement to be acquired by New York-based
Blackstone Group LP for about $20 billion in cash.

Shares of Hilton climbed $2.18, or 6.4 percent, to $36.05
yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
Blackstone, the world's biggest publicly traded buyout firm, will
pay $47.50 a share for Beverly Hills, California-based Hilton.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

FACTBOX- How private equity firms KKR, Blackstone stack up

(Reuters) - HISTORY:




Blackstone:


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RPT-IPO-VIEW-MF Global poised for $4 billion IPO

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 1 - Man Group , the world's
largest listed hedge fund group, is set to stage what will
likely be the second-largest IPO on a U.S. exchange so far this
year when it spins off its U.S. brokerage arm, MF Global, this
month.




The offering could raise about $3.8 billion, putting it in
a league with Blackstone Group's high-profile $4.13
billion IPO last month. But investors are likely hoping that MF
Global's debut will not mirror the rocky entry of Blackstone
into the public markets.


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Blackstone, Lion Seek to Increase Orangina Debt, Remove Lender Safeguards

(Bloomberg) -- Blackstone Group LP and Lion Capital
LLP are seeking 192 million euros ($259 million) of loans for
soft-drink maker Orangina that give up standard protection for
lenders, at a time when companies worldwide are abandoning
borrowing because of investor jitters.

Blackstone, manager of the world's biggest buyout fund, and
partner Lion Capital want to increase Paris-based Orangina's
debt to 1.7 billion euros, said two people involved in the
transaction. The LBO firms acquired Orangina in 2005 and plan to
pay themselves a 400 million-euro dividend, said the people, who
declined to be identified because the discussions are private.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

UPDATE 2-Hedge fund GLG eyes U.S. listing with reverse deal

(Reuters) - LONDON, June 25 - GLG Partners, one of Europe's
largest hedge fund firms, has lined up a U.S. stock market
listing to help it expand and hire top managers, using a reverse
acquisition that values it at $3.4 billion.




Public flotations of alternative investment vehicles,
including hedge funds and private equity firms, have become one
of the hottest areas of the markets in New York and London, with
the likes of Fortress Investment Group and Blackstone
Group becoming available to individual investors.


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Dow Average Futures Advance as Bond Yields, Oil Drop; GM, Blackstone Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Dow Jones Industrial Average futures
rose after bond yields fell and oil prices dropped.

General Motors Corp. climbed after Goldman, Sachs & Co.
advised clients to buy shares of the biggest U.S. automaker
because the United Auto Workers union may offer larger-than-
expected concessions. Blackstone Group LP, the private-equity
firm valued at $38 billion after its initial public offering June
22, also gained.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

RPT-IPO-VIEW-Blackstone IPO sets stage for robust 2007

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, June 24 - The past week's U.S. market
for initial public offerings lacked quantity, but Thursday's
$4.13 billion offering by Blackstone Group more than made up
for it, and put the U.S. IPO market on a high note for the
first half of 2007, and likely the rest of the year.




Blackstone, the week's only major IPO, raised $1.6 billion
more than the $2.5 billion generated by initial public
offerings during the entire month of June 2006, according to
Dealogic.


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Blackstone's India Fund benefits from tax haven

(Reuters) - A U.S. crackdown on tax loopholes for private equity giants such as Blackstone could spur investors to plow their money into offshore vehicles that get soft tax treatment. U.S. lawmakers have proposed legislation that could double the tax burden for Blackstone and others.




A symbol of U.S. superwealth, Blackstone made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday after raising $4.13 billion in an initial public offering.


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Blackstone IPO draws high non-U.S. demand: report

(Reuters) - The flotation on the New York Stock Exchange, worth up to $4.75 billion and underwritten by Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, is set to be priced later on Thursday. Blackstone earlier said it expects to sell 133.3 million common units at $29 to $31 each.




The banks will be permitted to sell an additional 20 million shares to meet excess demand.


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