Starwood, Blackstone hold talks

Starwood Hotels & Resorts has started discussions with rival Blackstone Group’s Hilton Worldwide about settling its civil corporate espionage charges, sources said.

The chains are in the discovery phase of a civil trial and, facing large expenses, have an incentive to reach a deal, sources said.

“I think there are appropriate times to have conversations,” a source said, adding that an agreement if reached would likely happen within four to six weeks.

Last fall, previous settlement talks failed.

Starwood, which owns the St. Regis, Sheraton and Westin brands, and which is led by Frits Van Paasschen, alleges former executives who developed its “W” luxury chain stole trade secrets when they left for Hilton in 2008 to start a competing “Denizens” luxury brand.

Starwood and Hilton have not been speaking much since the charges surfaced.

Meanwhile, federal prosecutors continue a separate criminal investigation on the matter.

Starwood and Hilton declined to comment.