Hilton completes Bally acquisition

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif / Hilton Hotels Corp. Wednesday completed its acquisition of Bally Entertainment Corp.

The $3 billion, stock-for-stock transaction (which includes Hilton's assumption of $1 billion of Bally debt) makes Hilton the world's largest casino gaming company.

Bally shareholders will receive one share of Hilton common stock for each share of Bally stock. ChaseMellon Shareholders Services is the transfer agent for both companies.

The transaction was approved in September by shareholders of both companies. Subsequently, it received approval from casino gaming regulators in Nevada, New Jersey, Mississippi and Louisiana.

Hilton's gaming operations currently include 16 casinos with some 900,000 square feet of gaming space. The company has three casinos in Las Vegas, two each in Atlantic City, Reno, New Orleans and Queensland, Australia; and one each in Laughlin, Kansas City, Robinsonville (Mississippi, near Memphis), Windsor (Ontario, Canada), and Istanbul, Turkey.

While the revenue and cash flow from these existing projects far exceed those generated by any other gaming company, Hilton has several projects in development -- representing a total investment of approximately $1 billion -- that is expected to result in continued growth at least to the year 2000.

The first of these is a new hotel-casino in the popular South American resort destination of Punta del Este, Uruguay, that will open in January 1997. In Atlantic City, a 75,000-square-foot, Western-themed casino at Bally's Park Place and a 300-room hotel tower addition to The Grand are scheduled to open in July 1997.

"Star Trek: The Experience," an interactive attraction combined with a 22,000-square-foot casino, is scheduled to open at the Las Vegas Hilton in the summer of 1997. Also, an early 1999 completion is expected for the "Paris Resort Casino," a 3,000-room project adjacent to Bally's on the Las Vegas Strip.

Concurrent with the closing of the transaction, Arthur M. Goldberg, who had served as Bally's chairman, has officially assumed his new responsibilities as executive vice president of Hilton Hotels Corp. and president, gaming operations. He has also joined Hilton's board of directors. Goldberg will divide his time between Hilton's corporate headquarters in Beverly Hills, Nevada and New Jersey.

Stephen F. Bollenbach, president and chief executive officer of Hilton Hotels Corp., said: "Since we announced this agreement in June, our transition team -- led ably by Arthur Goldberg -- has worked tirelessly preparing for this day, and ensuring that when it came we would hit the ground running. I'm delighted to say that we are not missing a beat in creating the most powerful force in the gaming industry today."

Hilton Hotels Corp. is the world leader in lodging hospitality and casino gaming. The company develops, owns, manages or franchises hotels, hotel-casinos, resorts and vacation ownership properties.