Hilton completes debt restructuring

Hilton Worldwide said Friday completed a debt restructuring on April 9th that lowers its total debt by nearly $4 billion.  The deal included buying and retiring $1.8 billion of debt and converting $2.1 billion of a type of debt called junior mezzanine to preferred equity, a stake in the company that pays a dividend.

Hilton Worldwide is owned by Blackstone, one of the world's largest buyout firms, with $93.5 billion assets under management. The New York-based firm's portfolio includes stakes in German telephone giant Deutsche Telekom, newspaper publisher Freedom Communications and casino operator Harrah's Entertainment.