Hilton Hotels was last night set to approve a takeover in excess of $20bn (£9.94bn) by a private equity company, creating the biggest hotel group in the world.

A hotel adviser said he expected Blackstone to be the likely acquirer, adding to a range of hotel assets it owns. Hilton has 2,800 hotels and plans to open 1,000 more outside North America in the next 10 years, as global hotel demand continues to comfortably outstrip supply.