Blackstone (Finally) Reaches The Finish Line
During a media call earlier today, Blackstone Group president Tony James said that the firm has held a $13.5 billion final close on its latest buyout fund. Had I been making the announcement, the word "finally" probably would have been added. This is the fund that Blackstone originally began raising with a $20 billion target in October 2007, long before most Americans had ever heard of credit default swaps or "President" Obama. It held a belated first close on just over $7 billion the following August (i.e., two years ago), cut the target to $15 billion and then hit a long dry patch. Somewhere along the way, James said that the fund would still reached "well into the teens." Blackstone had around $9 billion as of earlier this year, set a June 30 deadline, missed the deadline and then persuaded a bunch of fence-sitters at the last moment. Some have speculated that the carrots were sweetened fees, but James said today that there were no substantial term changes made between the first and final close (perhaps because it would have introduced "most favored nation" complications?).
