Hilton Hotel Corp. has announced it is divesting more of its owned real estate with the sale of 10 European properties to Morgan Stanley for approximately $770 million. The sales follow Hilton's plan of conceding ownership to focus on its management and franchise business, acknowledged Robert La Forgia, Hilton's executive vice president and CFO. The transaction also mimics Hilton's strategy to grow its European business along the same path as its U.S. and Canadian operations. The properties included in the sale are in Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain and Luxembourg. Also Thursday, Hilton completed the sale of its Scandic brand to EQT Partners, which was agreed upon in early March, for $1.1 billion.
