NEW YORK — Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. is suing Hilton Hotels Corp. and two of its executives, saying its rival stole secrets about Starwood's luxury brands.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts alleged that the two former Starwood employees stole more than 100,000 electronic files before and after they joined Hilton Hotels Corp. in June 2008.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday, claims that confidential information about Starwood's W hotel brand was used to help Hilton develop its Denizen brand, which was formally launched in March. At the time, Hilton said the chain is "primarily aimed at the globally conscious modern traveler."

"Hilton Hotels Corp. believes this lawsuit is without merit and will vigorously defend itself," spokeswoman Ellen Gonda said in an e-mailed statement. "We fully intend to move forward on the development of our newest brand, Denizen Hotels."

Named in the suit is Ross Klein, who served as president of Starwood's luxury brands group before joining Hilton as global head of its luxury and lifestyle brands. He had worked at Starwood since March 2003.

Also named is Amar Lalvani, who was senior vice president responsible for the development of Starwood's luxury brands before he became global head of luxury and lifestyle brand development for Hilton. As global head of W development, he also helped lead the brand's international expansion.

Starwood claims the executives were aided and abetted by Hilton and other Starwood employees they recruited to Hilton. Hilton was acquired by private equity firm The Blackstone Group in 2007 for $20 billion. Before joining Starwood, Lalvani was an associate in Blackstone's mergers and acquisitions practice.

Neither Klein nor Lalvani immediately responded to calls for comment.