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Hilton Completes Bond Sale Of $100 Million; Hilton First U.S. Company To Issue Bonds In Chilean Peso

Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE:HLT) today announced it has completed the issuance of $100 million of bonds in a transaction in which Hilton is the first U.S. corporation to issue bonds denominated in Chilean Pesos (CLP).

The issue is a 67.715 billion CLP euronote, equivalent to US$100 million. The 8-year euronote, due August 15, 2009, has a coupon of


* 7.43 percent and is payable semi-annually, to be adjusted for the movements of the Unidad de Fomento, the Chilean CPI index created in 1967 and published monthly by the Central Bank of Chile. The euronotes were rated Baa3, BBB- and BBB- by Moody`s, S&P and Fitch, respectively.


Payments of interest and principal on the euronotes will be made in US dollars based on the prevailing CLP/USD foreign exchange rate. In the transaction, Hilton has swapped out all Chilean currency exchange rate and inflation risk. At a re-offer price of par, the transaction was priced at 155 basis points over the yield of the Central Bank of Chile 12-year Pagare Reajustable con Pago en Cupones reference bonds.


“This transaction was an innovative execution that allowed Hilton to access a new investor base,” said Mariel C. Albrecht, senior vice president and treasurer for Hilton Hotels Corporation.

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The CLP euronote was not registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the U.S. absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. The CLP euronote was not registered under the Chilean Securities Act and may not be publicly offered in Chile absent registration. This press release is being issued pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 135c under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.


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