Ladbroke Purchase to Boost Hilton Name

Ladbroke Group, the owner of Hilton hotels outside the United States, said it agreed to buy British hotel company Stakis for about $1.89 billion. Ladbroke plans to give the Hilton name to Stakis’ 54 hotels after the acquisition to strengthen the brand in Britain. London-based Ladbroke has hotels in more than 50 countries and a marketing alliance with Beverly Hills-based Hilton Hotels Corp. Ladbroke Chief Executive Peter George said the acquisition “probably enhances” the prospects of a merger between the British and U.S. companies. Hilton spokesman Marc Grossman said that “putting together the companies is a good idea” but that there are no plans to do so now. Stakis also owns 22 casinos and 67 LivingWell health clubs, which Ladbroke plans to introduce to its Hilton International hotels worldwide. Ladbroke has 38 Hilton hotels in Britain and five casinos. The company expects to fire about 200 Stakis employees in Scotland as a result of the acquisition.