Itt Accepts Offer From Starwood

ITT Corp. accepted a $13.3 billion buyout offer from Starwood Lodging Monday, spurning a lower hostile bid from Hilton Hotels.

The combination of ITT and Starwood would create the world’s largest hotelier, bringing some 650 Sheraton, Westin and Caesar’s hotels and casinos in 70 countries under the control of one corporation with $10 billion in annual revenues.

Phoenix, Ariz.-based Starwood, the nation’s largest real estate investment trust, agreed to buy the Seattle-based Westin hotel brand last month. Its offer of $82 a share in cash and stock for ITT, including $15 a share in cash, dwarfs Hilton’s $11.1 billion, or $70-a-share, cash and stock offer.

Hilton did not immediately respond to news of the Starwood deal, so it was not known if it would try to top Starwood’s offer. The company, based in Beverly Hills, Calif., did not return calls seeking comment.

Critics had urged ITT’s chairman and chief executive, Rand Araskog, to work with Hilton for a higher bid.