On July 3, 2007, Hilton Hotels Corp. agreed to an all-cash buyout from the Blackstone Group LP in a $26 billion (including debt) deal that would make Blackstone the world's largest hotel owner. At $47.50 per share, the buyout price was 32 percent higher than the closing value of a share of Hilton stock on July 3.

The most significant sale of Hilton Hotels Corporation occurred in October 2007, when it was acquired by The Blackstone Group, a private equity firm. The deal was valued at approximately $26 billion and represented one of the largest leveraged buyouts in the history of the hospitality sector at the time. Under Blackstone's ownership, the company was transformed into "Hilton Worldwide" and underwent a massive global expansion. Blackstone eventually took the company public again in 2013 through a highly successful IPO (Initial Public Offering). By 2018, Blackstone had fully divested its remaining shares in Hilton, marking the end of its ownership era. While there have been other smaller "sales" of specific Hilton-branded properties or regional divisions over the years, the 2007 acquisition by Blackstone remains the landmark transaction that redefined the company's modern trajectory as a global hospitality powerhouse.