Scoop up the Hilton Hotels, of course. As Blackstone pockets a deal to buy the 480,000-room hotel chain, other big PE players are starting to sniff out the Marriott and Starwood.

With Blackstone Group's agreement to acquire Hilton Hotels Corp. for $20 billion in cash, acquisitive private-equity buyers have finally cracked the Big Three of U.S.-based publicly held hotel giants – and instantly raised the question of whether Marriott International Inc. or Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. might be next.

The Hilton deal also highlights a new reality in the buyout world: Some private-equity giants have amassed so many assets in certain sectors that they are behaving like strategic investors rather than calculated short-term buyers.

Blackstone already controls more than 100,000 hotel rooms in the U.S. and Europe through its ownership of LaQuinta Inns and Suites and LXR Luxury Resorts & Hotels. In the last three years, Blackstone has acquired $15 billion in hotel assets. By adding Hilton, one of the industry's most storied names, Blackstone takes on a major, long-term business commitment.

Blackstone will pay $47.50 a share, a 40% premium to Monday's closing price of $33.87, and assume $6 billion in debt. Hilton's stock was up more than 6% Tuesday before the deal was announced and was 6.4% higher to $36.05 in 1 p.m. composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange in a shortened, preholiday session. A company spokeswoman declined to comment on the stock activity.

(Continue reading this story on Wall Street Journal)

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