Word: bollenbach
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...strategy designed to push Hilton's offer above $60 a share. "This is not the end of it. Now the real fun begins," says TIME's John Greenwald. "ITT made its expected move, and Hilton will very likely raise its offer." If Hilton's combative CEO Stephen Bollenbach had his way, the takeover would create the world's largest owner of hotels and casinos with 230,000 rooms and 30 gambling palaces. Once the very symbol of the corporate conglomerate, ITT has in recent years been struggling to streamline its diverse business operations, which range from publishing phone directories...
...When Bollenbach fled the executive loony bin at Disney for Hilton last year, he quickly developed a new strategy for the well-known but mediocre company. In lodging, he wanted to expand Hilton's traditional presence in the full-service-hotel sector in the U.S. and abroad. In gaming, he saw Hilton as a buyer in an industry that was consolidating. To finance acquisitions, he would take advantage of low interest rates and Hilton's strong balance sheet...
...Corp. fits Bollenbach's bill perfectly. "Sheraton," he says, "has something that very few other people have: a large number of big hotels." His timing is pretty good too. Deluxe hotels are far cheaper to buy than to build, particularly in major cities such as New York and Chicago, which have added few big inns since an industry-wide slump ended in 1994. At the same time, the profits of hoteliers jumped 28% last year...
...Bollenbach prevails, that is. Araskog greeted the offer with public silence and began privately assembling a defense team. He has run ITT since 1979 and seems primed for a big battle. "Sheraton would rather take over Hilton than be taken over by it," says Morris Lasky, ceo of Lodging Unlimited, a hotel-management and consulting firm. Lasky likened Hilton and ITT to "two titans that will go nose to nose." Just the prospect of such a fight sent ITT stock up a whopping $14.75 a share, to $58.50, the day Hilton launched its offer. (ITT shares closed Friday...
...Bollenbach is in a buying mood, and even if Hilton does swallow ITT, the company's appetite for new acquisitions will remain undiminished. Hilton has been quietly buying up the debt of Claridge Hotel & Casino Corp., a struggling gaming firm. "We're going to stick to our strategy," Bollenbach says. Which means? "More deals coming...