The Blackstone Group

The Blackstone Group was founded in New York in 1985 by Pete Peterson and Steve Schwarzman, who were previously working together at Lehman Brothers. The Group operates in a number of areas including private equity, real estate, credit and alternative investments, financial advisory (M&A, restructuring, reorganisations, private placements, etc.). Blackstone’s private equity business has been one of the most active over the last decade, and is now one of the largest in the world.

Investment Strategy

Blackstone pursues non-hostile investments in a diverse range of sectors, primarily in North America and Western Europe.

It has a value-oriented, conservative investment approach which leads it to use “prudent” leverage and focus on companies with leading market shares in stable industries

It is willing to examine complex transactions and performs rigourous due diligence including externsive macroeconomic research and industrial analysis

Other investmetn premises include add-on acquisitions, proprietary deal flow, corporate partnerships and creative exit mechanisms

Target investment size between $250m and $1.25bn