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The numbers behind a big fundOn Wall Street, one mystery has been whispered about for months: How accurate is the valuation of Blackstone’s flagship real estate fund? The speculation has arisen because the fund, the $59 billion Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust — more commonly known as BREIT — has managed to keep an “appraised” value of its assets that far exceeds virtually every other real estate fund. Many rivals have fallen in value, some quite dramatically, in the face of high interest rates and a flagging property market. BREIT’s performance has floated above its competition, and it has boasted a 10.5 percent annual return since its 2017 debut. (Those appraisals help to determine a firm’s management fees: The higher the appraisal value, the higher the fees.)

Persons: —, Blackstone, DealBook’s Andrew Ross Sorkin, Michael de la Organizations: Blackstone Real Locations: Michael de la Merced

Even when compared with other CEOs, who routinely get paid roughly 200 times more than their typical employees, Elon Musk’s pay package was eye-opening. Critics have argued for years that CEO pay packages are exorbitant. Under Musk’s pay plan, he received a chunk of stock options each time Tesla’s market value rose by $50 billion. General Motors, for example, considers executive salaries at 3M, Boeing, Ford, IBM and other huge companies, and uses complex formulas to determine CEO compensation. Corporate law experts say any new compensation package for Musk will likely be challenged in court unless Tesla's board either resigns en masse or follows a meticulous process to protect shareholders by passing a substantially smaller package.

Persons: Tesla, Kathaleen St, Jude McCormick, Musk, Bernard Arnault, Critics, Blackstone’s Steven Schwarzman, “, ‘, ’ ” McCormick, Musk’s, shouldn’t, Mary Barra, Jim, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, they’re, ”, Charles Elson, ” Elson, Elson Organizations: Elon, Musk, Forbes, General Motors, 3M, Boeing, Ford, IBM, Big Tech, University of Delaware, Lawyers Locations: Delaware, —, Barra, U.S

☆ The Key Issues for Business in a Likely Trump-Biden Rematch
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-27 | by ( Sarah Kessler | Vivienne Walt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After beating Nikki Haley in New Hampshire on Tuesday, Donald Trump reaffirmed his position as the leading candidate to win the Republican nomination. That has business leaders facing the possibility of another Trump presidency, and their investors trying to figure out what it could mean for their bottom lines. During Blackstone’s quarterly earnings call on Thursday, an analyst wanted to know if uncertainty over who would win a likely Biden-Trump matchup could freeze deal flow. (“At the end of the day, do you think he’s going to be more interested in attacking the A.C.A. or something else?” he said of a potential Trump presidency.

Persons: Nikki Haley, Donald Trump, Trump, ”, Jonathan Gray, Ralph Andretta, Jeff Arnold, “, Lori Esposito Murray Organizations: Republican, Biden, Trump, Economic Development, Conference Board Locations: New Hampshire

☆ Blackstone to Buy U.K. Software Developer Civica
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Ben Dummett | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Blackstone’s tie-up with Civica, if completed, could be announced as soon as Wednesday. Photo: jeenah moon/ReutersBlackstone agreed to buy U.K.-based software developer Civica, placing its second multibillion-dollar bet in Europe in as many days, in a sign that private-equity deal making in the region is picking up. The value of the transaction wasn’t disclosed. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported it valued Civica at close to $2.5 billion including debt.

Persons: Blackstone Organizations: Street Locations: Europe

☆ Blackstone Nears $2.5 Billion Deal to Buy Software Developer Civica
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Ben Dummett | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Blackstone’s tie-up with Civica, if completed, could be announced as soon as Wednesday. Photo: jeenah moon/ReutersBlackstone is in advanced talks to buy Civica in a deal valuing the U.K.-based software developer at close to $2.5 billion including debt, according to people familiar with the matter. The tie-up, if completed, could be announced as soon as Wednesday. It would mark Blackstone’s latest bet in the U.K. following its recent purchases of two hotels—one in Birmingham and another outside of Edinburgh—and a project to build affordable housing across the U.K.

Persons: Blackstone, Edinburgh — Locations: Birmingham, Edinburgh

☆ Private equity superstores overstock the shelves
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

LONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Private equity investors seem happier these days shopping for returns at specialty shops over supermarkets. U.S. private equity funds raised some $240 billion in the first nine months of 2023, according to research outfit PitchBook, 13% less than a year earlier. New York-based CD&R in August raised $26 billion for its 12th-generation private equity fund while Eurocentric CVC managed an even more eye-popping $29 billion in July. A better explanation, from the consultants who advise LPs on where to put their cash, is that private equity supermarkets may be cannibalising themselves. Until they can prove otherwise, the more scattered private equity superstores risk losing more ground to the specialists.

Persons: Clayton, Blackstone, Steve Schwarzman, Marc Rowan, don’t, Rowan, Rob Lucas, Blackstone’s, they’re, Lucas, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Rice, CVC Capital Partners, Apollo Global Management, Blackstone Capital Partners IX, “, IX, CVC, Apollo, Blackstone, U.S, Thomson Locations: Dubilier, New York, Blackstone, Asia, Luxembourg, Europe, Americas

☆ CVC IPO efforts may not be third-time lucky
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - CVC Capital Partners’ ambitions to become a publicly traded diversified asset manager are on the back burner. Shares of rival managers have been pummelled as investors fret over the Gaza conflict, a weakening economy and whether buyout groups can continue to flourish in an era of higher interest rates. True, interest rates may fall. But geopolitical tensions are unlikely to die down, given unresolved issues in the Middle East and Ukraine. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Pamela Barbaglia, Aston Martin, Neil Unmack, Oliver Taslic Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Partners, Financial Times, Moody’s, Pfizer, Thomson Locations: Amsterdam, Ukraine, Luxembourg, Gaza, East

☆ Blackstone Investment Strategist Byron Wien Dies at 90
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Laura Cooper | Ted Bunker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Byron Wien had joined Blackstone’s quarterly partners meeting last week. Photo: Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg NewsByron Wien, the longtime Blackstone executive known for his market prognostications and intense networking, died at 90 on Wednesday. Wien, who developed a wide following with his annual “Ten Surprises” list, was vice chairman of the private wealth group at Blackstone, which he joined 14 years ago. For decades, his lists detailed economic, political and financial market surprises he expected to see in the year ahead. He produced the 38th edition last January.

Persons: Byron Wien, Christopher Goodney Organizations: Bloomberg, Blackstone

☆ Apollo’s divergent path outshines Blackstone
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Apollo Global Management (APO.N) and Blackstone (BX.N) both emerged from private equity’s primordial swamp. That spread comprised nearly three-quarters of Apollo’s $3.1 billion in profit available to be doled out to shareholders in 2022. That turbo-charged the fees Blackstone reaps from managing funds, which contributed 59% of $6.6 billion in profit available to shareholders last year. Apollo’s earnings from its insurance business are awarded an even more meager 10 times. This doesn’t form the closed loop like that between Athene, Apollo and its various specialist lenders.

Persons: Marc Rowan, haven’t, dealmaking, Rowan, Blackstone, Steve Schwarzman, Athene, BREIT, Rich, reckons Bain, Schwarzman, Dealmaking, hasn’t, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Apollo Global Management, Blackstone, Apollo, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Barclays, Schwarzman, U.S . Federal, Industry, Life Insurance, Research Association, Thomson Locations: freefall, BREIT, Blackstone

☆ Carlyle’s big fee strain comes into sharper view
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo for Carlyle is seen at the company’s offices in New York City, U.S., June 28, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidNEW YORK, Aug 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Private equity veteran Carlyle (CG.O) is behind the buyout times. Carlyle and Blackstone kicked off the latest results season at opposite ends of the valuation spectrum. Carlyle trades at about 10 times expected earnings for 2023, according to Refinitiv, the lowest among major peers. And yet, Carlyle’s primary business of doing deals held up relatively better: Proceeds from asset sales declined 36%, versus an 82% slump at Blackstone.

Persons: Carlyle, Brendan McDermid, Harvey Schwartz, Blackstone, Steve Schwarzman, Schwartz, Jonathan Guilford, Aston Martin, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Blackstone, Twitter, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Japan

☆ Blackstone Becomes First $1 Trillion Private Equity Manager
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Michael J. De La Merced | More About Michael J. De La Merced | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For years, private equity firms have sought to join a special club: managing $1 trillion in assets, a milestone that would put them in the same league as mutual fund behemoths like BlackRock and Fidelity and banking giants like JPMorgan Chase. On Thursday, Blackstone became the first in the private equity industry to hit that level, boasting in its latest quarterly earnings report that it managed just over $1 trillion in assets as of the end of June. For firms like Blackstone, attaining that size cements their position as a major player in mainstream finance. On Main Street, the firm is perhaps best known for striking debt-fueled takeovers of companies, even if in reality it has long since branched out into an array of other businesses, from lending to real estate. “This milestone reflects the extraordinary trust we have developed with our investors,” Stephen A. Schwarzman, Blackstone’s co-founder and chief executive, said in a statement, adding that he saw “a vast opportunity for further expansion.”

Persons: Blackstone, ” Stephen A, Blackstone’s Organizations: Fidelity, JPMorgan Chase, Blackstone Locations: BlackRock

☆ Private equity risks gorging on its secret sauce
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Investors prefer pedestrian but steady management fees over the lumpy share of fund profit that is the industry’s special sauce. Private equity firms with a public listing funnel some of the carry to employees and some to shareholders. TPG (TPG.O) last year went public with a similar strategy of paying around two-thirds of performance-related revenue to employees. Assuming the general idea is to keep overall earnings steady, then higher fee-based income for shareholders must be matched by lower cash compensation for employees. It suggests that for KKR, TPG and the rest, there is a limit to just how much of their own secret sauce employees can eat.

Persons: Steve Schwarzman, Carlyle, Blackstone’s, Schwarzman, Henry Kravis, George Roberts, EQT, Blackstone, Harvey Schwartz, Rowe Price, Thoma Bravo, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Blackstone, KKR, Apollo Global Management, JPMorgan, Reuters Graphics, TPG, Apollo, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Alpha, Bain Capital, Thoma, Ares Management, Thomson Locations: BlackRock

☆ Canceled TV deal cuts one loan cord
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, May 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Banks can tune out one painful summer rerun. Television broadcaster Tegna (TGNA.N) on Tuesday terminated its sale to hedge fund Standard General, letting banks off the hook for $8.2 billion in debt backing the deal. As a result, Standard General couldn’t finance its transaction. Chipping away at the $25 billion-plus pile of hung loans potentially frees banks up to start fresh. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ TPG returns to credit party fashionably late
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The buyout firm is acquiring Angelo Gordon, an asset manager that specializes in private credit, for $2.7 billion, it said on Monday. The direct-lending portion of its $55 billion credit business emphasizes borrowers with less than $25 million of EBITDA. While it missed the last private credit bonanza, it isn’t saddled with jumbo-size and potentially shaky loans written at the top of the last cycle. As U.S. regional banks struggle, private credit firms see what Blackstone has termed a “golden moment” to muscle in on new turf. Follow @JMAGuilford on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSPrivate equity firm TPG said on May 15 that it had agreed to acquire private credit and real estate-focused investment firm Angelo Gordon for $2.7 billion, including cash and stock.

☆ Opinion | Private Equity Is Gutting America — and Getting Away With It
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Brendan Ballou | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

In this case, as in nearly every private equity acquisition, private equity firm benefit from a legal double standard: They have effective control over the companies their funds buy, but are rarely held responsible for those companies’ actions. This mismatch helps to explain why private equity firms often make such risky or shortsighted moves that imperil their own businesses. But it isn’t just that firms benefit from the law: They take great pains to shape it, too. The most prominent of these benefits is the carried interest loophole, which allows private equity executives to pay such low tax rates. Instead, Congress approved an amendment that largely exempted small and midsize companies owned by private equity firms from a new corporate minimum tax.

☆ EQT tries tricky private-market fundraising puzzle
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - When one pot of cash seems to be running low, it’s rational to seek another. That’s why EQT’s (EQTAB.ST) boss Christian Sinding is right to try raising money from rich individuals, rather than just institutions. The $24 billion Swedish private equity and real estate investor said alongside first-quarter results on Thursday that it was preparing fund structures for private wealth investors. This usually refers to people who are well-heeled but not deep-pocketed enough to have a dedicated private wealth management firm, a family office, looking after their money. EQT itself spooked shareholders in January, when it said that the fundraising for its new 20 billion euro EQT X vehicle was not happening as fast as analysts had predicted.

☆ Goldman doubles down on the wealthy, as it should
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Instead, he indicated that the wealth business would be a “key driver for growth." One key pillar of that plan is Goldman’s alternative assets business, which includes running buyout, private credit and real-estate investing funds. For example, Goldman plans to take $2 billion in management and other fees from the alternative business next year. Last year, of the $72 billion Goldman raised for alternative, a third of that came from its wealth business. Goldman has dabbled in this now-dubbed “One Goldman” concept before, and gave it significant airtime on Tuesday.

Blackstone Inc. became one of the world’s most powerful financial firms by investing on behalf of large institutional investors. To boost growth, it decided to offer its products to individuals. Its new fund was a huge success, becoming the biggest Blackstone had ever raised. Then it became a crisis.

☆ Breit Flows Aren’t the Be-All and End-All for Blackstone
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Telis Demos | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Money swirls around Blackstone . Much of the headline news regarding Blackstone lately has been the much-discussed jump in redemption requests by wealthy individual investors from the nontraded Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, or Breit. But after dropping on that news late last year, Blackstone’s shares have surged back. Its stock is up 26% so far in 2023, including more than 5.5% after its quarterly earnings report on Thursday. A big reason is that base management fees—one of Blackstone’s core ballasts—continue to grow.

☆ U.K. Property Funds Extend Withdrawal Limits
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Julie Steinberg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

In the U.S., Blackstone’s giant real-estate fund aimed at wealthy individuals has said it would limit redemptionsLONDON—Some large U.K.-focused property funds are limiting withdrawals, extending restrictions that began in the fall, as investors such as pension funds pull back from the sector. BlackRock Inc. is deferring meeting third-quarter requests for redemptions from a fund that would ordinarily have been paid at the end of December, said a person familiar with the matter.

☆ Blackstone’s Leaky Property Fund Pays for a Thumbs-Up
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Carol Ryan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Blackstone’s flagship property fund got a boost that bosses hope will deter investors from asking for their money back. There is a catch, though: It had to agree to sweeter terms than normal. The New York private-equity firm said on Tuesday that the University of California will buy shares worth $4 billion in BREIT. The nontraded real-estate fund has been receiving more applications from clients asking to take their cash out than it can contractually pay. In December, investors put in redemption requests equivalent to 5.44% of the fund’s total net asset value, above both BREIT’s 2% monthly and 5% quarterly limits.

☆ Blackstone’s Leaky Property Fund Pays for a Thumbs Up
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Carol Ryan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Blackstone’s Hefty Concession Is a Warning to Investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( James Mackintosh | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Blackstone will use up to $1 billion to pay UC Investments if it fails to earn 11.25% a year after fees. If you are trying to get your money out of Blackstone’s giant private property fund, the new year brought some bad news, and some potentially very good news. The bad news was that no, you can’t have all your money back right now. So many other people tried to withdraw in December that the 5% quarterly cap will limit the amount that comes out until March, assuming everyone renews their withdrawal requests.

☆ University of California to Invest $4 Billion in Blackstone’s BREIT Real-Estate Vehicle
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Miriam Gottfried | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A Blackstone real-estate vehicle aimed at individual investors will get an investment from the University of California. The University of California is putting $4 billion into a Blackstone Inc. real-estate vehicle aimed at individual investors, providing crucial ballast for a fund that has been beset by a wave of redemptions. The investment will come in the form of common equity in Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Inc., known as BREIT, and will be subject to the same fees and terms the vehicle’s other shareholders get, Blackstone executives said. The typical BREIT investor has the option to sell shares monthly, but University of California manager UC Investments will effectively be committing to hold its shares for six years.

☆ Same Building, Different Prices: a Two-Speed Property Market Can’t Last
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Carol Ryan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

If identical side-by-side houses had different asking prices, home buyers would be understandably confused. In recent weeks, private property funds like Blackstone’s nontraded, semiliquid BREIT vehicle have had to explain their jarringly strong performance relative to listed stocks. BREIT has reported returns of 8.4% so far this year, compared with around minus 25% for publicly traded U.S. real-estate investment trusts. The fund was forced to freeze redemptions after a number of clients asked to cash out at its seemingly rosy valuations. Another big nontraded fund, Starwood Real Estate Income Trust, has also closed its gates.

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