Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings fell more than 1 percent on Monday after the company announced that certain selling stockholders affiliated with the Blackstone Group have commenced a secondary offering of 90 million shares of Hilton common stock. The move reduces Blackstone’s stake in the hotel operator to less than 50 percent. As a result, a potential spinoff of hotel properties owned by Hilton Worldwide into a real estate investment trust (REIT) may be more likely, according to a report on Investor’s Business Daily. Analyst Robin Farley of UBS stated in a research note that Hilton might also potentially initiate a dividend in the second half of the year that would “open up a pool of income investors as potential owners” of Hilton shares.
