What's going on?

Days after American investment firm Blackstone sold the last of its stake in Hilton Worldwide � which ended up being the most profitable private investment in real estate, ever � it announced on Monday that it�s checking into another hotel, LaSalle Hotel Properties, for $5 billion.

What does this mean?

Blackstone bought Hilton Worldwide in 2006 and expanded the company by more than doubling the number of hotels that Hilton manages � but started to sell off its shares in 2013 after Hilton�s stock went public. On Friday, it confirmed that it had officially sold all its shares in the company � Hilton’s stock is up 85% since listing.

But that doesn�t mean Blackstone�s leaving the world of real estate � it�ll be buying LaSalle�s 41 hotels, adding it to a growing list of companies owned by Blackstone with ties to �the only thing in the world that lasts�.

Why should I care?

For markets: Chinese investors have been a big part of Hilton�s rebound under Blackstone.

Last year Blackstone sold about 25% of Hilton Worldwide to Chinese firm HNA Group (although HNA ended up selling its stake after the Chinese government flagged some regulatory concerns). That wasn�t Hilton�s first parlay with Chinese investors: it also sold the iconic Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York for $1.9 billion � the most ever paid for a single hotel � to a Chinese insurer, Anbang.

The bigger picture: Several factors could be encouraging investment in real estate right now.

Blackstone will be adding LaSalle to a portfolio of companies alongside Gramercy Property Trust, which it paid $7.6 billion to acquire last week. Buying real estate companies might be pretty attractive in the current US economy, as they�re probably cheaper now than they were a year ago: their stock prices have slid as interest rates have increased, which is generally harmful for their business models (read more here).