Hilton Sweetens Offer For Itt Corp.

Hilton Hotels Corp. isn’t taking no for an answer.

Determined to buy the owner of Sheraton hotels and Caesars World casinos, Hilton on Wednesday raised its offer for ITT Corp. by 27 percent to $8.3 billion. In addition, Hilton continued a promise to assume responsibility for $3.2 billion worth of ITT debt.

The offer of $70 a share may not be enough, according to analysts, because Hilton only is matching what ITT has said it would pay to buy back about a quarter of its own stock as part of an attempt to repel the hostile bid.

“Hilton wasn’t even in the game with its $55-a-share offer,” said James Murron, an analyst at Deutsche Morgan Grenfell in New York. “Now at least they are in the parking lot with $70, but they’ll probably have to go higher.”

ITT said its board of directors would consider the bigger bid.

“We are stopping, looking and listening,” said ITT spokesman Jim Gallagher. “ITT’s board of directors will exercise it’s fiduciary responsibility and consider Hilton’s revised offer in due course.”