Decomposing Value

Abstract

The story of Blackstone and Hilton is a defining moment of the private equity industry. This story involves a high stakes leveraged buyout, layoffs, allegations of corporate espionage, the revival of an iconic brand, a $14 billion capital gain, the largest ever in private equity, and the emergence of the largest private market firm. Moreover, this success occurred with a highly-leveraged and cyclical business going through the worst financial crisis since 1933. Somebody deserves a trophy; but who? The answer might be surprising and shows both the difficulty and pertinence of carefully decomposing the sources of value creation in Leveraged Buy-Outs.

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