Also

* Hotel real estate company MeriStar Hospitality Corp. said it had agreed to a $2.6-billion buyout by an arm of Blackstone Group, the latest in a string of large lodging buys by the private investment firm.

* Germany’s Henkel said its Dial Corp. had agreed to buy Right Guard and other deodorant brands from Procter & Gamble Co. for about $420 million.

* Moody’s Investors Service lowered General Motors Corp.’s debt rating further into “junk” territory, citing uncertainty that the company could establish competitive wages and benefits without a bankruptcy filing.

* Trans World Entertainment Corp., operator of Coconuts, Wherehouse, Planet Music and F.Y.E. stores, agreed to buy 345 of Musicland Holding Corp.’s Sam Goody and Suncoast stores for $104 million.