ITT Board Meets; No Word on Rival Bids

ITT Corp.’s board of directors met for five hours to discuss rival takeover bids from Starwood Lodging Trust and Hilton Hotels Corp., but adjourned without a formal announcement. Although New York-based ITT last month struck a friendly $9.8-billion pact with real estate investment trust Starwood, the company is now analyzing a $9.3-billion bid from Hilton. Beverly Hills-based Hilton launched a hostile bid for ITT in January, but its offer had been repeatedly rejected by ITT as financially inadequate. That stalemate ended this week when ITT, describing Hilton’s latest bid as a “bona fide” offer, said its financial advisors had met for the first time with representatives of Hilton. Although Phoenix-based Starwood’s proposed $82-per-share bid tops Hilton’s $80-per-share offer, Hilton’s bid offers more cash and includes a mechanism designed to reduce price risk. Both offers are a combination of cash and stock. Meanwhile, Starwood, which had been widely expected to raise its offer for ITT, kept silent. The company’s board of directors met Wednesday, but Starwood declined to discuss the status of its bid. ITT stock rose $1.38 to close at $80.25; Hilton shares rose 13 cents to $31.06; and Starwood shares rose $1.63 to $60.25, on the New York Stock Exchange.