March 14 (Reuters) - Hilton said on Thursday it will buy

Graduate Hotels from Adventurous Journeys Capital Partners for

$210 million, marking its first brand acquisition in over two

decades as pressure in the hotel industry creates opportunity

for consolidations.

Hilton said it believes the addressable market for the

Graduate brand that primarily caters to locations near major

colleges and universities in the United States and the United

Kingdom, is 400-500 hotels globally.

"University towns tend to have steady demand, from students,

parents and visiting academics, largely unconnected to the

global economy," said Richard Clarke, analyst at Bernstein.

Hilton's shares were up marginally during premarket trading

after the announcement of the deal with Graduate Hotels, which

has only about 35 operating and pipeline properties.

CEO Chris Nassetta had said during the Hilton's

fourth-quarter earnings call that "more stress in the system

than normal" presented more opportunity for modest acquisitions.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter,

and Hilton sees the fee contribution for the first full-year of

ownership to be about $16 million.