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Blackstone Inc. is an American
alternative investment An alternative investment, also known as an alternative asset or alternative investment fund (AIF), is an investment in any asset class excluding stocks, bonds, and cash. The term is a relatively loose one and includes tangible assets such as ...
management company based in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate business has actively acquired commercial real estate. Blackstone is also active in credit, infrastructure, hedge fund solutions, insurance solutions, secondaries and growth equity. As of Q3 2022, the company's total assets under management were approximately US$951 billion, making it the largest alternative investment firm globally. Blackstone was founded in 1985 as a
mergers and acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspec ...
firm by
Peter G. Peterson Peter George Peterson (June 5, 1926 – March 20, 2018) was an American investment banker who served as United States Secretary of Commerce from February 29, 1972, to February 1, 1973, under the Richard Nixon administration. Before serving as Sec ...
and Stephen A. Schwarzman, who had previously worked together at
Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, ...
.


History


Founding and early history

Blackstone was founded in 1985 by
Peter G. Peterson Peter George Peterson (June 5, 1926 – March 20, 2018) was an American investment banker who served as United States Secretary of Commerce from February 29, 1972, to February 1, 1973, under the Richard Nixon administration. Before serving as Sec ...
and Stephen A. Schwarzman with $400,000 in
seed capital Seed money, sometimes known as seed funding or seed capital, is a form of securities offering in which an investor invests capital in a startup company in exchange for an equity stake or convertible note stake in the company. The term ''seed'' ...
. The founders named their firm "Blackstone," using a cryptogram derived from the names of the two founders (Schwarzman and Peterson). "Schwarz" is German for "black"; "Peter", "Petros" or "Petra" (Πέτρος and πετρα, the masculine and feminine rendering of the word, respectively), in Greek means "stone" or "rock". The two founders had previously worked together at
Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, ...
. At Lehman, Schwarzman served as head of Lehman Brothers' global mergers and acquisitions business. Prominent investment banker
Roger C. Altman Roger Charles Altman (born April 2, 1946) is an American investment banker, the founder and senior chairman of Evercore, and a former Democratic politician. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Carter administration from Janu ...
, another Lehman veteran, left his position as a managing director of
Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, ...
to join Peterson and Schwarzman at Blackstone in 1987, but left in 1992 to join the
Clinton Administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over ...
as Deputy Treasury Secretary and later founded top advisory investment bank Evercore Partners in 1995. 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. From the outset in 1985, Schwarzman and Peterson planned to enter the private equity business but had difficulty in raising their first fund because neither had ever led a leveraged buyout. 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. The largest investors in the first fund included Prudential Insurance Company, Nikko Securities and the
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
pension fund. Blackstone also ventured into other businesses, most notably investment management. In 1987 Blackstone entered into a 50–50 partnership with the founders of BlackRock, Larry Fink (current CEO of BlackRock), and
Ralph Schlosstein Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...
(CEO of Evercore). The two founders, who had previously run the mortgage-backed securities divisions at First Boston and Lehman Brothers, respectively, initially joined Blackstone to manage an investment fund and provide advice to financial institutions. They also planned to use a Blackstone fund to invest in financial institutions and help build an asset management business specializing in fixed income investments.The Blackstone Group L.P., Form S-1
, Securities And Exchange Commission, March 22, 2007
As the business grew, Japanese bank Nikko Securities acquired a 20% interest in Blackstone 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 led many key deals in his time at the firm, but had a mixed record with his investments. He left Blackstone in 1999 to start his own private equity firm, Heartland Industrial Partners, based in
Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast, Greenwich is home to many hedge funds and othe ...
. The firm advised
CBS Corporation The second incarnation of CBS Corporation (the first being a short-lived rename of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation) was an American multinational media conglomerate with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing, an ...
on its 1988 sale of CBS Records to
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
to form what would become
Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...
. In June 1989, Blackstone acquired freight railroad operator, CNW Corporation. That same year, Blackstone partnered with Salomon Brothers to raise $600 million to acquire distressed thrifts in the midst of the savings and loan crisis.


1990s

In 1990, Blackstone launched its hedge funds business, initially intended to manage investments for Blackstone senior management. That same year, Blackstone formed a partnership with J. O. Hambro Magan in the UK and Indosuez in France. Additionally, Blackstone and Silverman acquired a 65% interest in Prime Motor Inn's
Ramada Ramada is a large American multinational hotel chain owned by Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. As of December 31, 2018, it operates 811 hotels with 114,614 rooms across 63 countries under the Ramada brand. Name The ''Ramada'' name derives from t ...
and Howard Johnson franchises for $140 million, creating Hospitality Franchise Systems as a
holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
. In 1991, Blackstone created its Europe unit and launched its real estate investment business with the acquisition of a series of hotel businesses under the leadership of Henry Silverman. In October 1991, Blackstone and Silverman added Days Inns of America for $250 million. In 1993, Hospitality Franchise Systems acquired Super 8 Motels for $125 million. Silverman would ultimately leave Blackstone to serve as CEO of HFS, which would later become
Cendant Corporation Cendant Corporation was an American provider of business and consumer services, primarily within the real estate and travel industries. In 2005 and 2006, it broke up and spun off or sold its constituent businesses. Although it was based in New Yo ...
. Blackstone made a number of notable investments in the early and mid-1990s, including
Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company is an American company providing construction services in dredging and land reclamation, currently the largest such provider in the United States. GLD&D operates primarily in the United States but conducts one ...
(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. In 1995, Blackstone sold its stake in BlackRock to PNC Financial Services for $250 million. Between 1995 and 2014, PNC reported $12 billion in pretax revenues and capital gains from BlackRock, Schwarzman later described the selling of BlackRock as his worst business decision ever. 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. Also in 1997, Blackstone made its first investment in
Allied Waste Allied Waste Industries, Inc. was a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. A vertically integrated company that owned and operated solid waste collection businesses, recycling facilities, and landfills, it was a leader in the s ...
. In 1998, Blackstone sold a 7% interest in its management company to AIG, valuing Blackstone at $2.1 billion. In 1999, Blackstone partnered, together with
Apollo Management Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American global private-equity firm. It provides investment management and invests in credit, private equity, and real assets. As of March 31, 2022, the company had $512 billion of assets under management, ...
to provide capital for Allied Waste's acquisition of Browning-Ferris Industries. Blackstone's investment in Allied was one of its largest at that point in the firm's history.A trash hauler is buying a much bigger rival, a type of deal that makes Wall Street a bit nervous
. ''The New York Times'', March 9, 1999
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.
. ''The New York Times'', April 8, 1999
Blackstone's investments in the late 1990s included AMF Group (1996),
Haynes International Haynes International, Inc., headquartered in Kokomo, Indiana, is one of the largest producers of corrosion-resistant and high-temperature alloys. In addition to Kokomo, Haynes has manufacturing facilities in Arcadia, Louisiana, and Mountain Home ...
(1997),
American Axle American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. (AAM), headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, is an American manufacturer of automobile driveline and drivetrain components and systems. History AAM was founded in 1994 when a private investor group, led by R ...
(1997),
Premcor Premcor (formerly NYSE symbol PCO) was a Fortune 500 oil refinery group based in Greenwich, Connecticut. It operated five refineries, which are located in Port Arthur, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; Lima, Ohio; Hartford, Illinois; and Delaware City, De ...
(1997), CommNet Cellular (1998), Graham Packaging (1998),
Centennial Communications Centennial Communications and its subsidiaries (Centennial Wireless and Centennial de Puerto Rico) provided wireless and broadband telecommunications services to wireless telephone subscribers in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virg ...
(1999),
Bresnan Communications Bresnan Communications was an American cable television provider formed by William Bresnan in 1984. It originally operated cable systems on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Over the next fourteen years, its operations spread to Minnesota Wisconsin, M ...
(1999), PAETEC Holding Corp. (1999). Haynes and Republic Technologies International, both had problems and ultimately filed bankruptcy. Blackstone's investments in telecommunications businesses—four cable TV systems in rural areas (TW Fanch 1 and 2, Bresnan Communications and Intermedia Partners IV) and a cell phone operator in the Rocky Mountain states (CommNet Cellular) were among the most successful of the era, generating $1.5 billion of profits for Blackstone's funds. Blackstone Real Estate Advisers, its real estate affiliate, bought the Watergate complex in Washington D.C. in July 1998 for $39 million and sold it to Monument Reality in August 2004.


Early 2000s

In October 2000, Blackstone acquired the mortgage for
7 World Trade Center 7 World Trade Center (7 WTC, WTC-7, or Tower 7) refers to two buildings that have existed at the same location within the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The original structure, part of the original World Trade C ...
from the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association. In July 2002, Blackstone completed fundraising for a $6.45 billion private equity fund, Blackstone Capital Partners IV, the largest private equity fund at that time. With a significant amount of capital 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 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults. The company is based in the Boston Fina ...
for $1.28 billion. The transaction represented one of the first large
club deal A club deal, in finance, refers to a leveraged buyout or other private equity investment that involves two or more private equity firms. It can also be referred as consortium or syndicated investment. Definition In a club deal, the investor grou ...
s completed since the collapse of the
Dot-com bubble The dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet. Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Comp ...
. In 2002,
Hamilton E. James Hamilton Evans "Tony" James (born February 3, 1951) is an American billionaire businessman, and the executive vice chairman of The Blackstone Group, a New York-based global asset management firm, having previously been president and chief operating ...
joined global alternative asset manager Blackstone, where he currently serves as president and chief operating officer. He also serves on the firm's executive and management committees, and its board of directors. 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 Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military tech ...
, while Blackstone purchased its automotive parts business, a major supplier of automotive systems. Blackstone also purchased a majority interest in
Columbia House Columbia House was an umbrella brand for Columbia Records' mail-order music clubs, the primary iteration of which was the Columbia Record Club, established in 1955. The Columbia House brand was introduced in the early 1970s by Columbia Records ...
, a music-buying club, in mid-2002. Blackstone made a significant investment in Financial Guaranty Insurance Company (FGIC), a monoline bond insurer alongside
PMI Group The PMI Group is a holding company whose primary subsidiary is the PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. (PMI). The company was founded in 1972 by Preston Martin and is headquartered in Walnut Creek, California Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa C ...
,
The Cypress Group The Cypress Group is a private equity company focused on leveraged buyout investments in companies across a range of industry sectors. At its peak in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Cypress was among the largest US private equity firms, although ...
and CIVC Partners. FGIC incurred heavy losses, along with other 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 SunGard was an American multinational company based in Wayne, Pennsylvania, which provided software and services to education, financial services, and public sector organizations. It was formed in 1983, as a spin-off of the computer services ...
in a transaction valued at $11.3 billion. Blackstone's partners in the acquisition were
Silver Lake Partners Silver Lake is an American global private equity firm focused on investments in technology, technology-enabled and related industries. Founded in 1999, the firm is one of the largest technology investors in the world. Its investment holdings hav ...
, Bain Capital,
Goldman Sachs Capital Partners Goldman Sachs Capital Partners is the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs, focused on leveraged buyout and growth capital investments globally. The group, which is based in New York City, was founded in 1986. As of 2019, GS Capital Partners ...
,
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strate ...
,
Providence Equity Partners Providence Equity Partners L.L.C. is a specialist private equity investment firm focused on media, communications, education, technology investments across North America and Europe. The firm specializes in growth-oriented private equity investme ...
, and TPG Capital. 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
long/short equity Long/short equity is an investment strategy generally associated with hedge funds. It involves buying equities that are expected to increase in value and selling short equities that are expected to decrease in value. This is different from the ...
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 would 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, it was also busy pursuing real estate investments. Blackstone acquired Prime Hospitality and
Extended Stay America Extended Stay America, Inc., headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the operator of an economy apartment hotel chain in the United States and Canada. As of December 31, 2019, the company owned and operated 557 hotel properties consisting ...
in 2004. Blackstone followed these investments with the acquisition of La Quinta Inns & Suites in 2005. Blackstone's largest transaction, the $26 billion buyout of Hilton Hotels Corporation occurred in 2007 under the tenure of Hilton CFO Stephen Bollenbach. Extended Stay Hotels was sold to
The Lightstone Group The Lightstone Group is a privately held real estate investment company which owns and operates a diversified portfolio of multifamily, office, industrial, hotel, and retail properties. Lightstone has invested directly in individual real estate as ...
in July 2007 and Prime Hospitality's
Wellesley Inns La Quinta Inns & Suites (Spanish: ''La Quinta'', "the country villa", ) is a chain of limited service hotels in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Honduras. La Quinta Holdings, Inc. first sold shares to the public in April 2014. La Quinta ...
were folded into La Quinta. La Quinta Inns & Suites was spun out for IPO in 2014 and was later acquired by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts


Buyouts (2005–2007)

During the buyout boom of 2006 and 2007, Blackstone completed some of the largest leveraged buyouts. Blackstone's most notable transactions during this period included the following:


Initial public offering in 2007

In 2004, Blackstone had explored the possibility of creating a
business development company A Business Development Company ("BDC") is a form of unregistered closed-end investment company in the United States that invests in small and mid-sized businesses. This form of company was created by the US Congress in 1980 in the amendments to th ...
(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 were shelved. It also planned to raise a fund on the Amsterdam stock exchange in 2006, but its rival, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., launched a $5 billion fund there that soaked up all demand for such funds, and Blackstone abandoned its project. In 2007, Blackstone acquired Alliant Insurance Services, an insurance brokerage firm. The company was sold to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in 2012. On June 21, 2007, Blackstone became a public company via an initial public offering, selling a 12.3% stake in the company for $4.13 billion, in the largest U.S. IPO since 2002.Anderson, Jenny.
Blackstone Founders Prepare to Count Their Billions
." ''The New York Times'', June 12, 2007.


2008 to 2010

During the financial crisis of 2007–2008, Blackstone managed to close only a few transactions. In January 2008, Blackstone made a small co-investment alongside TPG Capital and Apollo Management in their buyout of
Harrah's Entertainment Harrah's Entertainment (later named Caesars Entertainment Corporation, previously The Promus Companies) was an American casino and hotel company founded in Reno, Nevada, and based in Paradise, Nevada, that operated over 50 properties and seven ...
, although that transaction had been announced during the buyout boom period. Other notable investments that Blackstone completed in 2008 and 2009 included
AlliedBarton AlliedBarton was a Conshohocken, Pennsylvania-based security firm. The company was founded in 1957 as Allied Security, and in 2016 was merged with Santa Ana, California-based security and janitorial services company Universal Services of Ameri ...
, Performance Food Group, Apria Healthcare and CMS Computers. In July 2008, Blackstone, together with NBC Universal and Bain Capital acquired The Weather Channel from Landmark Communications for $3.5 billion. In 2015, the digital assets were sold to IBM for $2 billion. In 2018, the remainder of the company was sold to Byron Allen for $300 million. In December 2009, Blackstone acquired Busch Entertainment Corporation from
Anheuser-Busch InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, commonly known as AB InBev, is an American-Belgian multinational drink and brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium. AB InBev has a global functional management office in New York City, and regional headquarters ...
for $2.9 billion. In November 2013, Merlin Entertainments, owned in part by Blackstone Group, became a public company via an initial public offering on the
London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
. In August 2010, Blackstone announced it would buy Dynegy, an energy firm, for nearly $5 billion; however, the acquisition was terminated in November 2010.


Investments 2011 to 2015

* In February 2011, the company acquired Centro Properties Group US from Centro Retail Trust (now Vicinity Centres) for $9.4 billion. The company became Brixmor Property Group and Blackstone sold its remaining interest in the company in August 2016. * In November 2011, a fund managed by the company acquired medical biller Emdeon for $3 billion. * In late 2011, Blackstone Group LP acquired
Jack Wolfskin Jack Wolfskin is a German producer of outdoor wear and equipment headquartered in Idstein. It was founded in 1981 and is now one of the biggest suppliers and successful franchisers of outdoor products including sports equipment, mountain and le ...
, a German
camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...
equipment company. In 2017, the company was handed over to its lenders. * In August 2012, Blackstone was part of a consortium that financed
Knight Capital The Knight Capital Group was an American global financial services firm engaging in market making, electronic execution, and institutional sales and trading. With its high-frequency trading algorithms Knight was the largest trader in U.S. equitie ...
after a software glitch threatened Knight's ability to continue operations. * In October 2012, the company acquired G6 Hospitality, operator of Motel 6 & Studio 6 motels from AccorHotels, for $1.9 billion. * In November 2012, the company acquired a controlling interest in Vivint, Vivint Solar, and 2GIG Technologies. In February 2013, 2GIG was flipped to Nortek Security & Control, LLC for $135M. * In April 2013, the company discussed buying Dell, but it did not pursue the acquisition. * In June 2013, Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII acquired an industrial portfolio from First Potomac Realty Trust for $241.5 million. Part of this portfolio was developed by StonebridgeCarras as Oakville Triangle (Now "National Landing") * In September 2013, Blackstone announced a strategic investment in ThoughtFocus Technologies LLC, an information technology service provider. * In August 2013, Blackstone acquired Strategic Partners, manager of private equity secondary market, secondaryfunds, from Credit Suisse. * In February 2014, Blackstone purchased a 20% stake in the Italian luxury brand Versace for €150 million. * In April 2014, Blackstone's charitable arm, the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, donated $4 million to create the Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network in Colorado. The program encourages increased collaboration among local business leaders with the goal of retaining high-growth companies in the state. * In May 2014, Blackstone Group acquired the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas resort from Deutsche Bank for $1.73 billion. * In August 2014, Blackstone Energy Partners acquired Shell Oil's 50% stake in a shale-gas field in the Haynesville Shale for $1.2 billion. * In January 2015, Blackstone Real Estate Partners VI announced it would sell a Gold Fields House in Sydney to Dalian Wanda Group for A$415 million. * In June 2015, Blackstone acquired the Willis Tower in Chicago for $1.3 billion. * In July 2015, Blackstone acquired Excel Trust, a real estate investment trust, for around $2 billion. * In November 2015, the company agreed to sell facility management firm GCA Services Group to Goldman Sachs and Thomas H. Lee Partners.


Investments since 2016

* In January 2016, Blackstone Real Estate Partners VIII L.P. acquired BioMed Realty Trust for $8 billion. * In February 2016, Blackstone sold four office buildings to Douglas Emmett for $1.34 billion. * In April 2016, Blackstone acquired 84 percent of Hewlett-Packard Enterprise's stake in the Indian IT services firm Mphasis. * On January 4, 2017, Blackstone acquired SESAC, a music-rights organization. * On February 10, 2017, Aon PLC agreed to sell its human resources outsourcing platform for $4.3 billion to Blackstone Group L.P., creating a new company called Alight Solutions. * On June 19, 2017, Blackstone acquired a majority interest in The Office Group, valuing the company at $640 million. * In July 2017, the company announced an investment in Leonard Green & Partners. * In January 2018, the company acquired Pure Industrial, a Canadian real estate investment trust for C$2.5 billion. * In January 2018, the company announced acquisition agreement for 55% of Thomson Reuters Financial & Risk unit for $20 billion. * In March 2018, Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. acquired a 22 million square foot portfolio of industrial properties from Cabot Properties for $1.8 billion. * In March 2018, Blackstone's Strategic Capital Holdings Fund invested in Rockpoint Group. * In March 2018, the company's Strategic Capital Holdings Fund announced an investment in Kohlberg & Company, a private equity firm. * In September 2018, the company acquires control of Luminor Bank in the Baltic countries. * In October 2018, Blackstone launched Refinitiv, the company resulting from its January deal for a 55 per-cent stake in Thomson Reuters Financial and Risk business. * In October 2018, Blackstone announced to buy Clarus. The deal includes assets worth $2.6 billion. * In March 2019, Blackstone purchased, with Yankee Global Enterprises, a minority stake in YES Network. * In April 2019, Blackstone acquired a majority stake in the Tube (packaging), tube packaging company, Essel Propack for $310 million. * In June 2019, Blackstone announced it had teamed with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and KIRKBI to buy Merlin Entertainment, the owners of Legoland in a deal worth £5.9 billion (about $7.5 billion). This would be the 2nd time Blackstone would own the company as they previously purchased it in 2005. * On July 15, 2019, Blackstone announced its plans to acquire Vungle Inc., a leading mobile performance marketing platform. * In September 2019, Blackstone announced it agreed to purchase 65% controlling interest in Great Wolf Resorts from Centerbridge Partners. They plan to form a joint venture worth $2.9 billion or more to own the company. * On November 8, 2019, Blackstone Group acquired a majority stake in MagicLab, the owner of dating app Bumble (app), Bumble. * Blackstone Group on November 15, 2019, invested $167 million in the holding company of Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd., Ryka Commercial Ventures Pvt. Ltd. * On November 18, 2019, Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. acquired the Bellagio (resort), Bellagio resort in Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada from MGM Resorts International, MGM Resorts in a Leaseback, sale-leaseback transaction. * On November 25, 2019, Reuters reported that Blackstone planned to invest $400 million in a joint venture with Switzerland, Swiss drug company Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Ferring. The joint venture will work on gene therapy for bladder cancer. The investment represents Blackstone Group's largest investment in drug development to date. * In March 2020, Blackstone announced that it is buying a majority stake in HealthEdge, a health-care software company. The deal worth $700 million was completed on April 13, 2020. *In July 2020, Blackstone invested US$200m in the Swedish oat milk brand, Oatly, for a 7% stake in the company, triggering outrage among some segments of its customer base. * In August 2020, Blackstone announced that it will buy a majority stake in Ancestry.com for $4.7 billion (including debt). * In August 2020, Blackstone acquired Takeda Consumer Healthcare for $2.3 billion. * In December 2020, Blackstone invested nearly $400 million in Liftoff, a mobile advertising company. *In January 2021, Blackstone acquired a majority shareholding in Bourne Leisure, a UK holiday and leisure company which owns Butlin's, Haven Holidays, and Warner Leisure Hotels, Warner Leisure, for £3 billion. * In March 2021, Blackstone made a $6.2 billion takeover bid for Australian casino operator Crown Resorts, offering a 20% premium to its closing share price at the time of the offer. Blackstone held at the time a near 10% stake in the company. * In April 2021, Blackstone acquired eOne Music, eOne music from Hasbro for $385 million. * In July 2021, MGM Resorts International announced it sold Aria Resort and Casino and Vdara to Blackstone for $3.89 billion in a Leaseback, sale-leaseback transaction. *In July 2021, Blackstone Group and AIG announced that the company would acquire 9.9% of AIG’s life and retirement insurance investment portfolio, for $2.2 billion cash, during AIG’s Corporate spin-off, spin-off of the unit by IPO in 2022. The two firms also entered a long-term asset management agreement for about 25% of AIG’s life and retirement portfolio, scheduled to increase in subsequent years. * In August 2021, the merger of two Blackstone portfolio companies, Vungle and Liftoff, was announced. Both companies are in the mobile advertising space. * In October 2021, the Blackstone Group acquired a majority stake of Spanx, Inc. The company was valued at US$1.2 billion. The deal was prepared by an all-female investment team from Blackstone, and it was announced that the Board of Directors would be all-female. *In October 2021, Blackstone acquired the Nucleus Network, Australia's premier clinical researcher, who are providing staple 'healthy' volunteers large financial rewards for drug trials. Blackstone to Acquire Nucleus Network, Australia’s Largest Phase One Clinical Trials Specialist *On February 14, 2022 Crown Resorts accepted Blackstone's takeover offer. Blackstone will pay US$6.6 billion for 90% of shares outstanding. *In April 2022, Blackstone agreed to acquire the Austin-based American Campus Communities, American Campus Communities, Inc. for nearly $13 billion. *In April 2022, Blackstone announced that it would acquire PS Business Parks for $7.6 billion. *In October 2022, Emerson Electric agreed to sell a 55 percent majority stake in its climate technologies business to Blackstone in a $14billion deal including debt.


Operations

Blackstone operates through four primary departments: private equity; real estate; hedge funds; and credit.


Corporate private equity

, Blackstone was the world's largest private equity firm by capital commitments as ranked by Private Equity International. The firm invests through minority investments, corporate partnerships, and rollup, industry consolidations, and occasionally, Startup company, start-up investments. The firm focuses on takeover#Friendly takeovers, friendly investments in Market capitalization, large capitalization companies. Blackstone has primarily relied on private equity funds, pools of committed capital from pension funds, Insurance company, insurance companies, endowments, fund of funds, high-net-worth individuals, sovereign wealth funds, and other institutional investors. From 1987 to its IPO in 2007, Blackstone invested approximately $20 billion in 109 private equity transactions. Blackstone's most notable investments include Allied Waste, AlliedBarton Security Services, Graham Packaging, Celanese, Nalco Holding Company, Nalco, HealthMarkets, Houghton Mifflin,
American Axle American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. (AAM), headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, is an American manufacturer of automobile driveline and drivetrain components and systems. History AAM was founded in 1994 when a private investor group, led by R ...
, TRW Automotive, Catalent, Catalent Pharma Solutions, Prime Hospitality, Legoland, Madame Tussauds, WHM, LLC, Luxury Resorts (LXR), Pinnacle Foods, Hilton Hotels Corporation, Motel 6, Apria Healthcare, Travelport, The Weather Channel (United States) and The PortAventura World, PortAventura Resort. In 2009, Blackstone purchased Busch Entertainment (comprising the Sea World Parks, Busch Garden Parks and the two water parks). In 2012, Blackstone acquired a controlling interest in Utah-based Vivint, Vivint, Inc., a home automation, security, and energy company.


Real estate

Blackstone's most notable real estate investments have included EQ Office, Hilton Worldwide, Trizec Properties, Center Parcs UK, La Quinta Inns & Suites, Motel 6, Wyndham Worldwide, Southern Cross Healthcare (United Kingdom), Southern Cross Healthcare and Vicinity Centres. The purchase and subsequent IPO of Southern Cross led to controversy in the UK. Part of the purchase involved splitting the business into a property company, NHP, and a nursing home business, which Blackstone claimed would become "the leading company in the elderly care market". In May 2011, Southern Cross, now independent, was almost bankrupt, jeopardizing 31,000 elderly residents in 750 care homes. It denied blame, although Blackstone was widely accused in the media for selling on the company with an unsustainable business model and crippled with an impossible sale and leaseback strategy. After the 2007–2010 subprime mortgage crisis in the United States, Blackstone Group LP bought more than $5.5 billion worth of single-family homes to rent, and then be sold when the prices rise. In 2014, Blackstone sold Northern California office buildings for $3.5 billion. The buildings sold in San Francisco and Silicon Valley included 26 office buildings and two development parcels. In 2018, a critique was raised regarding a purchase agreement on several hundred apartments in Frederiksberg, Denmark, between Blackstone's Danish partner North 360 and Frederiksberg Boligfond, a non-profit housing organization established by Frederiksberg Municipality in 1930. After a resistance of residents and questions regarding the legality of the purchase agreement, Blackstone withdrew from it in October 2019. On December 1, 2022, Blackstone Inc. restricted withdrawals from its $125 billion real estate investment fund BRIET due to a surge in redemption requests from investors. The move caused investor consternation and limited the ability to attract new capital for BRIET.


Marketable alternative asset management

In 1990, Blackstone created a fund of hedge funds business to manage internal assets for Blackstone and its senior managers. 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 capital, mezzanine funds, Collateralized loan obligation, senior debt vehicles, proprietary hedge funds and Closed-end fund, closed-end mutual funds. In March 2008, Blackstone acquired GSO Capital Partners, a 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 earnings targets. The combined entity created one of the largest credit platforms in the alternative asset management business, with over $21 billion 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 they acquired DLJ. Blackstone had been an original investor in GSO's funds. Following the acquisition, Blackstone merged GSO's operations with its existing debt investment operations.


Criticism

In separate cases in 2018 and 2019, the hotel chain Motel 6, owned by Blackstone, agreed to settle for a total of $19.6 million for giving guest lists to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without a warrant.


Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest

The company has invested in companies with links to the commercialization and deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.


United Nations condemnation of the Invitation Homes project and lobbying efforts

In 2019, a United Nations report found that Blackstone's massive purchasing of single-family homes after the financial crisis of 2007–2008 had "devastating consequences." The report alleged that Blackstone had abused tenants with exorbitant fees, rent hikes, and aggressive eviction practices, and that Blackstone's real estate practices had a disproportionate impact on communities of color, in part because the company targeted foreclosures resulting from subprime loans. The report also condemned Blackstone for "using its significant resources and political leverage to undermine domestic laws and policies that would in fact improve access to adequate housing." Blackstone spent at least $6.2 million to defeat California's Proposition 10, which would have allowed cities to enact rent control. Blackstone is a member of the Real Estate Roundtable, a special interest group which spends millions on lobbying and political donations every year. United Nations housing United Nations special rapporteur, rapporteur Leilani Farha and Surya Deva, chair of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, criticized Blackstone's business practices, including frequent rent increases and "aggressive" evictions, for contributing to the global housing crisis. Blackstone disputed these claims.


Leadership


Executives

Source: * Stephen A. Schwarzman: chairman, CEO & co-founder * Jonathan D. Gray: president & COO *
Hamilton E. James Hamilton Evans "Tony" James (born February 3, 1951) is an American billionaire businessman, and the executive vice chairman of The Blackstone Group, a New York-based global asset management firm, having previously been president and chief operating ...
: executive vice chairman * Joseph Baratta: Global Head of private equity * David S. Blitzer: Global Head of tactical opportunities


Board of directors

* Stephen A. Schwarzman: chairman of the board of directors and the executive committee *
Hamilton E. James Hamilton Evans "Tony" James (born February 3, 1951) is an American billionaire businessman, and the executive vice chairman of The Blackstone Group, a New York-based global asset management firm, having previously been president and chief operating ...
: a member of the executive committee * Jonathan D. Gray: a member of the executive committee * Joseph Baratta: a member of the executive committee * Jim Breyer, James W. Breyer: independent director & member of the audit committee and the conflicts committee * Rochelle Lazarus, Rochelle B. Lazarus: independent director & member of the audit committee and the conflicts committee * Jay Owen Light, Jay O. Light: independent director & member of the audit committee and the conflicts committee * The Right Honorable Brian Mulroney: independent director * William G. Parrett: independent director & chairman of the audit committee and the conflicts committee * Ruth Porat: independent director * Reginald ("Reg") J. Brown: independent director


See also

* List of outdoor industry parent companies * List of venture capital firms


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackstone The Blackstone Group, 1985 establishments in New York (state) American companies established in 1985 2007 initial public offerings Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Financial services companies based in New York City Financial services companies established in 1985 Hedge fund firms in New York City Investment banks in the United States Investment companies based in New York City Private equity firms of the United States Venture capital firms of the United States Publicly traded companies based in New York City