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Blackstone Group
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The Blackstone Group, L.P. is a an alternative asset management and financial services company that specializes in private equity, real estate and marketable alternative investment strategies as well as mergers and acquisitions (M&A), restructuring and fund placement advisory services.
Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyout transactions over the last decade while its real estate business has been an active acquiror of commercial real estate.
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Encyclopedia
The Blackstone Group, L.P. is a an alternative asset management and financial services company that specializes in private equity, real estate and marketable alternative investment strategies as well as mergers and acquisitions (M&A), restructuring and fund placement advisory services.
Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyout transactions over the last decade while its real estate business has been an active acquiror of commercial real estate. Since inception, Blackstone has completed investments in such notable companies as Hilton Hotels Corporation, Equity Office Properties, Allied Waste, United Biscuits, Freescale Semiconductor, Nielsen Company, Biomet, Michaels Stores and Travelport.
The firm was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions boutique by Peter G. Peterson and Stephen A. Schwarzman, who had previously worked together at Lehman Brothers, Kuhn, Loeb Inc. Over the course of two decades, Blackstone has evolved into one of the largest private equity investment firms globally. In 2007, Blackstone completed a $4 billion initial public offering to become one of the first major private equity firms shares in its management company on a public exchange. Blackstone is headquartered at 345 Park Avenue in New York City, with more than a dozen additional offices in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Business segments
The firm is organized into four business segments:
- Corporate private equity - Management of Blacsktone's family of private equity funds investing in leveraged buyout transactions;
- Real Estate - Management of Blackstone's family of real estate investment funds;
- Marketable Alternative Asset Management - Management of Blackstone's funds of hedge funds, mezzanine funds, senior debt vehicles, hedge funds and closed-end mutual funds; and
- Financial Advisory - Includes Blackstone's mergers and acquisitions advisory services, restructuring and reorganization advisory services and fund placement services for alternative investment funds.
Corporate private equity
Blackstone is one of the largest private equity investment firms globally and focuses primarily on leveraged buyouts of more mature companies. The firm also invests through minority investments, corporate partnerships and industry consolidations and occasionally start-up investments in new entrants into existing industries. The firm focuses on friendly investments in large capitalization companies.
Blackstone's corporate private equity business employs approximately 120 investment professionals in New York City, London, Menlo Park, Mumbai, Hong Kong, and Beijing.
Blackstone has historically relied primarily on private equity funds, pools of committed capital from pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, fund of funds, high net worth individuals, sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors. As of the end of 2008, Blackstone had completed fundraising for six funds with total investor commitments of over $36 billion, including five traditional private equity fund and a separate fund focused on telecommunications investments. As of the beginning of 2009, Blackstone is in the process of raising Blackstone Capital Partners VI, with a target size of $15 billion of investor commitments, reduced from an original target of $20 billion.
The following is a summary of Blackstone's private equity funds raised from inception through the beginning of 2009:
| Fund |
Vintage
Year |
Committed
Capital ($m) |
| Blackstone Capital Partners I |
1987 |
$800 |
| Blackstone Capital Partners II |
1994 |
$1,270 |
| Blackstone Capital Partners III |
1997 |
$3,780 |
| Blackstone Communications Partners I |
2000 |
$2,019 |
| Blackstone Capital Partners IV |
2003 |
$6,450 |
| Blackstone Capital Partners V |
2006 |
$21,700 |
| Blackstone Capital Partners VI |
Raising |
$15,000 |
From 1987 through the time of its IPO filing in 2007, Blackstone invested approximately $20 billion of capital in 109 private equity transactions.
Among Blackstone's most notable investments are Allied Waste, Graham Packaging, Celanese, Nalco, HealthMarkets, Houghton Mifflin, American Axle, Catalent Pharma Solutions, Prime Hospitality, Legoland, Universal Studios Parks, Madame Tussauds, La Quinta, Luxury Resorts (LXR), Pinnacle Foods, Hilton Hotels Corporation, Apria Healthcare, Travelport, The Weather Channel (United States) and (in 2009) The PortAventura Resort.
Real estate
Blackstone began building a real estate investment business in 1992, with the acquisition of a series of hotel businesses, and has built it into a global operation with 122 investment professionals in the US, Europe and Asia. The real estate business has raised approximately $28 billion for a variety of fund vehicles including: six US-focused funds and three International opportunity funds. Blackstone also raised a real estate special situations fund focusing on non-controlling debt and equity investment opportunities. The special situations fund invests directly in real estate as well as private and publicly traded real estate-related securities.
The following is a summary of Blackstone's real estate funds raised from inception through the beginning of 2009:
| Fund |
Vintage
Year |
Committed
Capital ($m) |
| Blackstone Real Estate Partners I |
1994 |
$485 |
| Blackstone Real Estate Partners II |
1996 |
$1,300 |
| Blackstone Real Estate Partners III |
1999 |
$1,500 |
| Blackstone Real Estate Partners International |
2001 |
800 |
| Blackstone Real Estate Partners IV |
2003 |
$2,500 |
| Blackstone Real Estate Partners International II |
2006 |
$1,550 |
| Blackstone Real Estate Partners V |
2006 |
$5,250 |
| Blackstone Real Estate Partners VI |
2007 |
$10,900 |
| Blackstone Real Estate Special Situations PE Fund |
2008 |
$1,000 |
From 1987 through the time of its IPO filing in 2007, Blackstone invested more than $13 billion in 212 real estate transactions and is a major owner of real estate throughout the US and Europe.
Among Blackstone's most notable real estate investments have included Equity Office Properties, Hilton Hotels Corporation, Trizec Properties, Center Parcs UK, La Quinta Inns & Suites, Wyndham Worldwide, Southern Cross Healthcare.
Marketable alternative asset management
In 1990, Blackstone created fund of hedge funds business to manage the internal assets for Blackstone and its senior managers. Over the years, this business evolved into Blackstone's marketable alternative asset management segment, which was opened to institutional investors. Among the investments included in this segment are funds of hedge funds, mezzanine funds, senior debt vehicles, proprietary hedge funds and closed-end mutual funds.
In March 2008, Blackstone acquired GSO Capital Partners, a leading credit-oriented alternative asset manager for $620 million in cash and stock and up to $310 million through an earnout over the next five years based on certain earnings targets. The combination of Blackstone and GSO created one of the largest credit platforms in the alternative asset management business, with over $21 billion of total assets under management. GSO was founded in 2005 by Bennett Goodman, Tripp Smith and Doug Ostrover. The GSO team had previously managed the leveraged finance businesses at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and later Credit Suisse First Boston, after the acquisition of DLJ. Blackstone had existing relationships with the GSO team as an original investor in GSO's funds. Following the completion of the acquisition, Blackstone merged GSO's operations with its existing debt investment operations.
Financial advisory services
Blackstone's financial advisory business is comprised of three businesses:
Blackstone was originally founded in 1985 as a boutique investment banking firm providing mergers and acquisitions advisory services. Among Blackstone's most notable corporate and mergers and acquisitions advisory clients include Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Verizon, Comcast, Sony and AIG.
In 1991, with the collapse of the 1980s buyout boom, Blackstone began to offer advisory services in corporate restructurings as well. Among Blackstone's most notable restructuring clients have included General Motors Xerox, Enron, Bally Total Fitness and Global Crossing.
Blackstone's fund placement advisory group, The Park Hill Group, was formed in 2005. The group focuses on raising capital from institutional investors for private investment vehicles that invest in private equity, mezzanine, real estate and venture capital. Park Hill also raises capital for hedge funds.
History
Founding and early history
The Blackstone Group was founded in 1985 by Peter G. Peterson and Stephen A. Schwarzman with $400,000 in seed capital. The founders named their firm Blackstone, which was a cryptogram derived from the names of the two founders (Schwarzman and Peterson): Schwarz is German for black; Peter, or Petra in Greek, means stone or rock. The two founders had previously worked together at Lehman Brothers, Kuhn, Loeb Inc. At Lehman, Schwarzman served as head of Lehman Brothers' global mergers and acquisitions business.
Prominent investment banker Roger C. Altman left his position as a managing director of Shearson Lehman Brothers to join Peterson and Schwarzman at Blackstone in 1987. In 1992, after playing a role in the firm's growth, Altman would leave Blackstone to join the Clinton Administration as Deputy Treasury Secretary. After leaving politics, in 1996, Altman would found boutique investment banking and private equity firm, Evercore Partners.
Blackstone was originally formed as a mergers and acquisitions advisory boutique. Blackstone advised on the 1987 merger of investment banks E. F. Hutton & Co. and Shearson Lehman Brothers, collecting a $3.5 million fee. The firm also advised CBS Corporation on its 1988 sale of CBS Records to Sony to form what would become Sony Music Entertainment.
In early 1987, Blackstone began mapping out plans to expand into a new business, private equity, and would emerge as one of the leading private equity firms globally. Blackstone finalized fundraising for its first private equity fund in the aftermath of the October 1987 stock market crash. After two years of providing strictly advisory services, Blackstone decided to pursue a merchant banking model after its founders determined that many situations required an investment partner rather than just an advisor. Among the largest investors in the first fund included Prudential Insurance Company, Nikko Securities and the General Motors pension fund.
Blackstone ventured into other businesses as well, most notably investment management. In 1987, Blackstone entered into a 50–50 partnership with the founders of Blackrock, Larry Fink and Ralph Schlosstein. The two founders, who each had run the mortgage backed securities division at First Boston and Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb, respectively. Initially joined Blackstone to manage an investment fund and provide advice to financial institutions as well as use a Blackstone fund to invest in financial institutions. to help those individuals build an asset management business specializing in fixed income investments.
As the business grew, Japanese bank, Nikko Securities, acquired a 20% interest in Blackstone in 1988 for a $100 million investment in 1988 (valuing the firm at $500 million). Nikko's investment allowed for a major expansion of the firm and its investment activities. The growth firm also recruited politician and investment banker David Stockman from Salomon Brothers in 1988. Stockman left Blackstone in 1999 to start his own private equity firm, Heartland Industrial Partners, based in Greenwich, Connecticut..
In June 1989, Blackstone acquired freight railroad operator, CNW Corporation. That same year, in 1989, Blackstone partnered with Salomon Brothers to raise $600 million to acquire distressed thrifts in the midst of the Savings and loan crisis.
1990s
As the 1990s began, Blackstone continued its growth and expansion into new businesses. In 1990, Blackstone launched its fund of hedge funds business, initially intended to manage investments for Blackstone senior management. Also in 1990, Blackstone extended its ambitions to Europe forming a partnership with J. O. Hambro Magan in the U.K. and Indosuez in France. In 1991, Blackstone created its Europe unit to enhance the firms presence internationally.
In 1991, Blackstone launched its real estate investment business with the acquisition of a series of hotel businesses. In 1990, Blackstone had acquired a 65% interest in Prime Motor Inns Ramada and Howard Johnson franchises for $140 million, creating Hospitality Franchise Systems as a holding company. In October 1991, Blackstone added Days Inns of America for $250 million. Then in 1993, Hospitality Franchise Systems acquired Super 8 Motels for $125 million.
Blackstone made a number of notable investments in the early and mid 1990s including Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company (1991), Six Flags (1991), US Radio (1994), Centerplate (1995), MEGA Brands (1996). Also, in 1996, Blackstone partnered with the Loewen Group, the second largest funeral home and cemetery operator in North America, to acquire funeral home and cemetery businesses. The partnership's first acquisition was a $295 million buyout of Prime Succession from GTCR..
Through the mid and late 1990s, Blackstone continued to grow. In 1997, Blackstone completed fundraising for its third private equity fund, with approximately $4 billion of investor commitments and a $1.1 billion real estate investment fund. The following year, in 1998, Blackstone sold a 7% interest in its management company to AIG, replacing Nikko Securities as its largest investor and valuing Blackstone at $2.1 billion. Then, in 1999, Blackstone launched its mezzanine capital business. Blackstone brought in five professionals, led by Howard Gellis, from Nomura Holding America's Leveraged Capital Group to manage the business.
Blackstone was also entangled in controversy when in 1996, Blackstone's Mikael Salovaara, a well-known distressed debt investor, who had joined the firm in 1994 from Goldman Sachs resigned from Blackstone. Salovaara resigned under allegations he had engineered a sham transaction involving the Bucyrus-Erie Company.
Among Blackstone's most notable investments in the late 1990s included: AMF Group (1996), Haynes International (1997), American Axle (1997), Premcor (1997), CommNet Cellular (1998), Graham Packaging (1998), Centennial Communications (1999), Bresnan Communications (1999), PAETEC Holding Corp. (1999). Also in 1997, Blackstone made its first investment in Allied Waste. Two years later in 1999, Blackstone, together with Apollo Management provided capital for Allied Waste's acquisition of Browning-Ferris Industries in 1999 to create the second largest waste management company in the US. Blackstone's investment in Allied was one of its largest to that point in the firm's history.
Early 2000s
In July 2002, Blackstone completed fundraising for a $6.45 billion private equity fund, Blackstone Capital Partners IV, the largest private equity fund ever raised to that point. More than $4 billion of the capital had been raised by the end of 2001 and Blackstone was able to secure the remaining commitments despite adverse market conditions.
With a significant amount of dry powder in its new fund, Blackstone was one of a handful of private equity investors capable of completing large transactions in the adverse conditions of the early 2000s recession. At the end of 2002, Blackstone, together with Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital, acquired Houghton Mifflin Company for $1.28 billion. The transaction represented one of the first large club deals, completed since the collapse of the Dot-com bubble. At the same time, Blackstone also completed a buyout of TRW Automotive, in one of the other large transactions completed during that period of relative inactivity in leveraged buyouts.
In late 2002, Blackstone remained active acquiring TRW Automotive in a $4.7 billion buyout, the largest private equity deal announced that year (the deal was completed in early 2003). TRW's parent was acquired by Northrop Grumman, while Blackstone purchased its automotive parts business, a major supplier of automotive systems. Blackstone also purchased a majority interest in Columbia House, a leading music club, in mid 2002.
Blackstone made a significant investment in Financial Guaranty Insurance Company (FGIC), a leading monoline bond insurer alongside PMI Group, The Cypress Group and CIVC Partners. FGIC has suffered along with the other leading bond insurers in the 2008 credit crisis.
Two years later, in 2005, Blackstone was one of seven private equity firms involved in the buyout of SunGard in a transaction valued at $11.3 billion. Blackstone's partners in the acquisition were Silver Lake Partners, Bain Capital, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Providence Equity Partners, and Texas Pacific Group. This represented the largest leveraged buyout completed since the takeover of RJR Nabisco at the end of the 1980s leveraged buyout boom. Also, at the time of its announcement, SunGard would be the largest buyout of a technology company in history, a distinction it would cede to the buyout of Freescale Semiconductor. The SunGard transaction is also notable in the number of firms involved in the transaction, the largest club deal completed to that point. The involvement of seven firms in the consortium was criticized by investors in private equity who considered cross-holdings among firms to be generally unattractive.
In 2006, Blackstone launched its new long / short equity hedge fund business, Kailix Advisors. According to Blackstone, as of September 30, 2008, Kailix Advisors had $1.9 billion of assets under management. In December 2008, Blackstone announced that Kailix will be spun off to its management team to form a new fund as an independent entity backed by Blackstone.
While Blackstone was active on the corporate investment side, the firm was also busy pursuing real estate investments. Blackstone acquired Prime Hospitality and Extended Stay America in 2004. Blackstone followed these investments with the acquisition of La Quinta Inns & Suites in 2005 and its largest transaction, the buyout of Hilton Hotels Corporation in 2007. Extended Stay Hotels was sold to The Lightstone Group in July 2007 and Prime Hospitality's Wellesley Inns were folded into LaQuinta.
Since 2005 and the Buyout Boom
During the buyout boom of 2006 and 2007, Blackstone completed some of the largest leveraged buyouts completed. Among Blackstone's most notable transactions during this period include the following:
| Investment |
Year |
Company Description |
Ref. |
| TDC |
2005 |
In December 2005, Blackstone together with a group of firms, including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Permira, Apax Partners and Providence Equity Partners, acquired Tele-Denmark Communications). The firms acquired the former telecom monopoly in Denmark, under the banner Nordic Telephone Company (NTC) for approximately $11 billion. |
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| Equity Office Properties |
2006 |
Blackstone completes the $37.7 billion acquisition of one of the largest owners of commercial office properties in the US. At the time of its announcement, the Equity Office buyout became the largest in history, surpassing the buyout of HCA. It would later be surpassed by the buyouts of TXU and BCE (announced but as of the end of the first quarter of 2008 not yet completed). |
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| Freescale Semiconductor |
2006 |
A consortium led by Blackstone and including the Carlyle Group, Permira and the TPG Capital completed the $17.6 billion takeover of the semiconductor company. At the time of its announcement, Freescale would be the largest leveraged buyout of a technology company ever, surpassing the 2005 buyout of SunGard. |
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| Michaels Stores |
2006 |
Blackstone, together with Bain Capital, acquired Michaels, the largest arts and crafts retailer in North America in a $6.0 billion leveraged buyout in October 2006. Bain and Blackstone narrowly beat out Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and TPG Capital in an auction for the company. |
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| Nielsen Company |
2006 |
Blackstone together with AlpInvest Partners,
Carlyle Group, Hellman & Friedman, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Thomas H. Lee Partners acquired the global information and media company formerly known as VNU. |
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| Orangina |
2006 |
Blackstone, together with Lion Capital acquired Orangina, the bottler, distributor and franchisor of a number of carbonated and other soft drinks in Europe from Cadbury Schweppes for 1.85 billion |
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| Travelport |
2006 |
Travelport, which owns Worldspan and Galileo as well as approximately 48% of Orbitz Worldwide was acquired from Cendant by Blackstone, One Equity Partners and Technology Crossover Ventures in a deal valued at $4.3 billion. The sale of Travelport followed the spin-offs of Cendant's real estate and hospitality businesses, Realogy Corporation and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation, respectively, in July 2006. Later in the year, TPG and Silver Lake would acquire Travelport's chief competitor Sabre Holdings. |
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| United Biscuits |
2006 |
In October 2006 Blackstone, together with PAI Partners announced the acquisition of the British biscuit producer. The deal was completed in December 2006. |
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| Biomet |
2007 |
Blackstone, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, TPG Capital and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners acquired the medical devices company for $11.6 billion. |
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| Hilton Hotels Corporation |
2007 |
Blackstone acquired the premium hotel operator for approximately $26 billion, representing a 25% premium to Hilton's all-time high stock price. The Hilton deal, announced on July 3, 2007 is often referred to as the deal that marked the "high water mark" and the beginning of the end of the multi-year boom in leveraged buyouts. |
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Initial public offering
In 2004, Blackstone had explored the possibility of creating a business development company (BDC), Blackridge Investments, similar to vehicles pursued by Apollo Management. However, Blackstone failed to raise capital through an initial public offering that summer, and the project was shelved.
By 2006, Blackstone had a more ambitious goal and began laying the groundwork for an IPO of the firm itself. On March 22, 2007, Blackstone filed with the SEC to raise $4 billion in an initial public offering. On June 21, Blackstone swapped a 12.3% stake in its ownership for $4.13 billion in the largest U.S. IPO since 2002. Traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BX, Blackstone priced at $31 per share on June 22, 2007. Less than two weeks after the Blackstone IPO, in July 2007 rival private equity firm, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, filed with the SEC As of the beginning of 2009, KKR has still not issued shares to the public.
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