Pankaj9. Hilton Hotels
Headquarters: McLean, Virginia
Bought By: HNA Group Co Ltd
Headquarters: Haikou, China
Hilton Hotels & Resorts has been operating since 1919 thanks to founder Conrad “Nicky” Hilton. From a handful of simple locations, Hilton became a worldwide name with 586 hotels in 85 countries by 2018. Today, Hilton hotels are all over the world.
In 2016, China’s aviation and shipping titan HNA Group paid $6.5 billion for a 25% stake in the hospitality chain, becoming the biggest shareholder. This was the second purchase that year for HNA who also bought Carlson Hotels Inc. in a bid to spread its wings into the hotel industry. At the time of the purchase, Hilton Hilton was worth around $26 billion.