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☆ PacWest sells $3.5 bln loan portfolio to asset management firm Ares
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 26 (Reuters) - PacWest Bancorp (PACW.O) said on Monday it was selling a $3.54 billion lender finance loan portfolio to Ares Management (ARES.N), in an attempt to boost liquidity at the U.S. regional lender, sending its shares up 7% in premarket trading. Since late May, Los Angeles-based PacWest has also sold its real estate lending unit and a huge chunk of its real estate loans. Through sale of such loans, some regional banks in the United States are trying to shore up capital and build investor confidence after a recent banking crisis. PacWest fetched $2.01 billion in proceeds from sale of the first part of its lender finance loan portfolio, it said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Its lender finance arm provided loans to small business lenders, commercial real estate lenders and consumer lenders.

Persons: PacWest, Paul Taylor, Blackstone, Ares, Niket, Shilpi Majumdar, Shinjini Organizations: PacWest Bancorp, Ares Management, U.S, Federal Reserve, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Barclays, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles, United States, Bengaluru

☆ Blackstone deal is a bright spot in gloomy sector
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, June 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The U.S. commercial real estate industry is mired in gloom, but some pockets are still sunny. The portfolio includes 14 million square feet of industrial properties in cities like Atlanta, Phoenix and Dallas, and the deal is premised in part on rising rents. According to the two companies, the net operating income generated by the warehouses is 4% of the acquisition price. Meanwhile, listed real estate investment trusts which own industrial warehouses trade at a narrowing discount to net asset value, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. In a gloomy sector, so-called big boxes are a bright spot.

Persons: Steve Schwarzman, Avison Young, Jennifer Saba, Aston Martin, Peter Thal Larsen, Oliver Taslic Organizations: YORK, Reuters, U.S, P Global Market Intelligence, Twitter, Siemens, Telecom Italia, Vivendi, Thomson Locations: Atlanta, Phoenix, Dallas, Canada

☆ Prologis to buy industrial properties from Blackstone for $3.1 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 26 (Reuters) - Prologis Inc (PLD.N) said on Monday it has agreed to buy 14 million square feet of industrial properties from real estate funds affiliated with Blackstone (BX.N) for $3.1 billion in an all-cash deal. It currently owns 1.2 billion square feet of logistics real estate in 19 countries. With near record-low vacancy, logistics remains a high conviction theme for us," Nadeem Meghji, head of Blackstone Real Estate Americas, said. Prologis and Blackstone have completed more than a dozen transactions together in the past 11 years, according to the statement. Eastdil Secured, Barclays, BofA Securities, Citigroup Global Markets, Deutsche Bank Securities, Goldman Sachs, J.P.Morgan Securities, Morgan Stanley, PJT Partners and Wells Fargo acted as financial advisers to Blackstone.

Persons: Nadeem Meghji, Prologis, Blackstone, Eastdil, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Kannaki, Shilpi Majumdar Organizations: Prologis, Blackstone, Estate, Duke Realty Corp, Barclays, BofA Securities, Citigroup Global Markets, Deutsche Bank Securities, J.P.Morgan Securities, PJT Partners, Thomson Locations: Atlanta , Washington DC , California, Dallas, Las Vegas , New York, Phoenix, South Florida, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Exclusive: Blackstone's Horizon head Scott Bommer to leave company
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Bommer, a former hedge fund manager, joined Blackstone in 2021 as a senior managing director when the company was overhauling its $81 billion Blackstone Alternative Asset Management hedge fund unit known as BAAM. The Blackstone Horizon platform will now be run by an investment committee led by BAAM Global Head Joe Dowling, the sources said. Before coming to Blackstone, Bommer ran hedge fund SAB Capital for 17 years investing in stocks, debt and mortgages. Bommer was the first big hire brought in by Dowling, after he joined Blackstone in early 2021 to help overhaul the hedge fund unit. Last year Tiger Global Management lost 56% while Whale Rock Capital Management ended with a 43% loss, Reuters reported previously.

Persons: Blackstone, Scott Bommer, Joe Dowling, Bommer, Dowling, Svea Herbst, Bayliss, Diane Craft, David Gregorio Our Organizations: YORK, Blackstone, Management, BAAM Global, SAB Capital, Tiger Global Management, Whale Rock Capital Management, Reuters, Svea, Thomson

☆ 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

☆ OMV Petrom makes largest crude oil discovery in decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BUCHAREST, June 13 (Reuters) - Romanian oil and gas group OMV Petrom (ROSNP.BX), majority-controlled by Austria's OMV (OMVV.VI), said on Tuesday it discovered new crude oil and natural gas deposits equal to about three quarters of its overall 2022 production. The deposits are the largest crude oil discovery OMV Petrom has made in decades, it said, and were found in southern Romania holding over 30 million barrerls of oil equivalent (boe) of recoverable resources. OMV Petrom has said it expected a decision around the middle of this year for the Neptun Deep gas project, estimated to cost around 4 billion euros ($4.32 billion). In May, Romanian lawmakers changed the law to enforce an additional tax on refined crude oil which applies to OMV Petrom. OMV Petrom shares were up 0.65% on the day on the Bucharest Stock Exchange by 1135 GMT.

Persons: Austria's OMV, Petrom, Cristian Hubati, Romgaz, OMV Petrom, Luiza Ilie, Jason Hovet, Alan Charlish Organizations: Bucharest Stock Exchange, Thomson Locations: BUCHAREST, Romania

And while Musk has mentioned the trip in two posts since leaving, he didn't tweet once while in China. That said, after three years of harsh COVID curbs that hampered entry into China, foreign CEOs appear eager to get the lay of the land. Sixty-seven foreign business leaders attended the high-profile China Development Forum this year, although that is still 20 fewer than in 2019. The few known comments by foreign CEOs whilst they were in China have been in line with Biden's stance that he is not seeking to decouple the world's two largest economies. The foreign ministry quoted Musk as saying he was opposed to a decoupling of the U.S. and China economies which he described as "conjoined twins".

Persons: Elon Musk, Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, Musk, Goldman's Solomon, wariness, Xi, Noah Fraser, Tesla, Goldman, Joe Biden, Tim Cook, Patrick Gelsinger, Mary Barra, Stephen Schwarzman, Jamie Dimon, Christopher Johnson, JPMorgan's Dimon, Daniel Russel, Brenda Goh, Joe Cash, Selena Li, Zhang Yan, David Brunnstrom, David Shepardson, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Media, Twitter, Canada China Business Council, EU Chamber of Commerce, U.S . Department of Commerce, U.S, flashpoints, General Motors, China, China Strategies, U.S ., JPMorgan, Blackstone, Intel, JPMorgan Global China Summit, Asia Society Policy Institute, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, BEIJING, China, Shanghai, U.S, Washington, Beijing, Blackstone's, East, Hong Kong

May 30 (Reuters) - Crown Resorts, the Australian casino operator bought by Blackstone Inc (BX.N) after three damaging inquiries, agreed to pay a A$450 million ($294 million) fine for breaking anti-money laundering laws, a step toward ending its darkest chapter. "We are pleased to have reached this agreement with AUSTRAC," said Crown Resorts CEO Ciarán Carruthers, who started in the role in September. "The company that committed these unacceptable, historic breaches is far removed from the company that exists today." Australian regulators over the recent years have penalised a slew of companies over breaches and non-compliances, with the country's "Big Four" banks fined the most. ($1 = 1.4743 Australian dollars)Reporting by Byron Kaye in Sydney and Harish Sridharan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Crown Resorts and Australian regulator agree to $294 mln penalty
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 30 (Reuters) - Crown Resorts has agreed to a A$450 million ($294 million) penalty after it failed to prevent money laundering and criminal activity at its casinos, Australia's financial crime regulator said on Tuesday. In reaching the agreement, Crown has admitted that it operated in breach of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act), AUSTRAC said. Crown Melbourne and Crown Perth casinos failed to appropriately assess the money laundering and terrorism financing risks they faced, and to identify and respond to changes in risk over time, the regulator added. "The company that committed these unacceptable, historic breaches is far removed from the company that exists today," Crown said in a statement. ($1 = 1.4743 Australian dollars)Reporting by Harish Sridharan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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.

☆ Blackstone acquires International Gemological Institute
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, May 21 (Reuters) - Private equity giant Blackstone Inc(BX.N) said it has fully acquired the jewellery certification firm International Gemological Institute (IGI) from China's Fosun(0656.HK) and the company's founding family. Blackstone acquired IGI- whose majority revenue and profits come from India- for about $530 million, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The statement said it had purchased an 80% stake from Fosun and 20% from the Lorie family. Founded nearly 50 years ago by the late Marcel Lorie, IGI has 29 laboratories and 18 schools of gemology in 10 countries. India's jewellery market was worth is $78.5 billion in the 2021 financial year and its one of the world's biggest, though a significant portion goes for export.

☆ Sam Zell, billionaire real estate investor, dies at 81
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Niket Nishant | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Sam Zell, Chairman of Equity Group Investments, speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 1, 2017. Born in 1941 to Polish parents who escaped to the United States during the German invasion of Poland, Zell took a deep interest in real estate very early on. Besides real estate, his firm also invested in manufacturing, travel, retail, healthcare and energy businesses. Zell played a key role in popularizing the structure of real estate investment trusts (REITs) that involved leasing and collecting rent on properties and distributing profit to investors as dividend in the 1990s. It was later sold to asset management giant Blackstone Inc (BX.N) for $39 billion in one of the largest real estate deals ever.

☆ Blackstone, Thomson Reuters consortium sells $3.4 bln LSEG shares at discount
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 17 (Reuters) - An investor consortium including U.S. buyout firm Blackstone (BX.N) and Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO) sold 33 million shares in the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG.L) worth about 2.7 billion pounds ($3.41 billion), a bookrunner said on Wednesday. The placing of shares, which was upsized from 28 million, was at a price of 8,050 pence per share, a discount of about 5% to LSEG's last closing price. Shares in LSEG fell as much as 5.1% at 8038 pence in early trading. The stock sale follows an earlier sale of more than $2 billion shares in March by Blackstone and Thomson Reuters, which became LSEG shareholders when they sold financial data firm Refinitiv to the bourse operator in 2021. ($1 = 0.7923 pounds)Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia CheemaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Blackstone, Thomson Reuters consortium sells $3.4 bln LSEG shares in upsized offering
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

☆ LSEG, Experian shares weigh on UK's FTSE 100
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The financial services sector (.FTUB3020) slid 1.1% while the broader FTSE 100 (.FTSE) shed 0.1%. Shares of Experian Plc (EXPN.L) slipped after the credit data firm forecast annual organic revenue to grow between 4% and 6%, while analysts were expecting a 5.8% growth. "In early trade, the market looks to be taking a cautious approach (with Experian's shares)," said Steve Clayton, head of equity funds, Hargreaves Lansdown. Among other movers, Watches of Switzerland Group Plc (WOSG.L) slumped 7.4% on a marginal sales decline in the first quarter. Bucking the sombre mood, Sage Group Plc (SGE.L) rose 3.6% after upgrading its annual organic recurring revenue growth forecast.

☆ Blackstone, Thomson Reuters consortium looks to sell further $3 bln in LSEG shares
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The accelerated stock offering, unveiled after the market close, includes some 28 million shares representing a voting interest of approximately 5.5% in the market infrastructure group. The news follows an earlier sale of more than $2 billion shares in March by Blackstone and Thomson Reuters, which became LSEG shareholders when they sold financial data firm Refinitiv to the bourse operator in 2021. As of April 30, Thomson Reuters owned 47.4 million shares of LSEG, worth $5 billion, which it had indicated it would begin selling in tranches this year. It also follows the publication of LSEG's first-quarter earnings at the end of April, which showed an almost 14% jump in gross profit to 1.8 billion pounds ($2.27 billion) from a year ago. LSEG has separately committed to buy up to 750 billion pounds of shares from the consortium through a targeted buy-back programme expected to be completed by April 2024.

☆ 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.

☆ Blackstone, Apollo were among about 20 bidders for SVB's assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 10 (Reuters) - Blackstone Inc (BX.N) and Apollo Global Management (APO.N) were among about 20 bidders for some assets of collapsed Silicon Valley Bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said on Wednesday. PNC Financial Services (PNC.N), Valley Bank, Citizens Bank and BankUnited (BKU.N) were also among the bidders, the FDIC said in a summary document, adding that one or more bidders submitted more than one bid. The bids, which closed on March 10, were followed by First Citizens BancShares (FCNCA.O) purchasing all the loans and deposits of SVB later that month. That was since eclipsed by First Republic Bank which was seized by regulators in early May and sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N). The deal announced in March said First Citizens would acquire SVB's assets of $110 billion, deposits of $56 billion and loans of $72 billion.

☆ Blackstone, Apollo were among bidders for SVB's assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

May 10 (Reuters) - Blackstone Inc (BX.N), Apollo Global Management (APO.N) were among the bidders for some assets of bankrupt Silicon Valley Bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said on Wednesday. PNC Financial Services (PNC.N), Valley Bank, Citizens Bank and BankUnited (BKU.N) were also part of the 19 bidders, the FDIC said. Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Private-credit firms see opportunity as banks tighten lending
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Lisa Pauline Mattackal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 10 (Reuters) - Private-credit firms are eyeing fresh opportunities from a potential borrowing squeeze in the United States as battered regional banks tighten lending after the turmoil in the sector, according to fund managers and investment strategists. Such lenders see commercial and residential real estate as particularly attractive, given the prominence of regional banks in these sectors. Regional U.S. banks accounted for about 70% of outstanding loans to the commercial real estate (CRE) sector alone, according to Capital Economics. "Signature was one of the biggest providers of real estate lending in the New York area, commercial real estate is very vulnerable ... as a lender you want to be on the other side of that," Handa said. Many private credit funds have plenty of excess funds, or "dry powder" to invest, said Matt Malone, head of investment management at private investment management firm Opto Investments.

Like its peers, private equity firm Apollo was hit by a slump in dealmaking in the quarter that made it challenging to cash out of its private equity holdings for top dollar. Its asset management and retirement businesses, however, helped it cushion the blow. Apollo said its adjusted net income fell to $845 million from $917 million a year earlier. That resulted in adjusted net income per share of $1.42, lower than the average analyst forecast of $1.47, according to Refinitiv data. By contrast, private equity funds of Blackstone, Carlyle and KKR appreciated by 2.8%, 1%, and 2%, respectively.

☆ Geopolitics is shrinking India’s risk premium
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

They are lured by a country whose potential as an alternative investment destination to China increasingly outweighs the local challenges of doing business. India’s $3 trillion economy is forecast to grow by 6.5% this fiscal year, continuing to outpace the rest of the world. Executives and investors also see a business-friendly government that is likely to remain in power for the next half-decade. Morgan Stanley analysts and strategists expect India to become the world’s third-largest economy and stock market before the end of the decade. The India risk premium is rapidly disappearing.

NEW YORK, May 8 (Reuters) - KKR & Co Inc (KKR.N) said on Monday its after-tax distributable earnings fell 26% year-on-year in the first quarter due to a sharp drop in asset sales from its private equity portfolio and lower transaction fees. KKR and other private equity firms cashed out on fewer investments during the quarter as inflation, higher interest rates, geopolitical tensions and financial market volatility weighed on dealmaking. After-tax distributable earnings, which represents the cash available for paying dividends to shareholders, fell to $719.3 million, down from $974 million posted a year. For its quarterly fund performance, KKR said its private equity portfolio gained 2%, infrastructure funds added 7%, leveraged credit funds grew 4%, while opportunistic real estate funds fell 3%. In comparison, the private equity funds of Blackstone and Carlyle appreciated by 2.8% and 1%, respectively.

LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - Blackstone (BX.N) is weighing options for Spanish gambling company Cirsa, including an initial public offering (IPO), people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The U.S. buyout group recently invited proposals from investment banks to manage a possible share sale and refinancing of Cirsa's debt, said the people, speaking on condition of anonymity. An IPO would follow a public share sale by Italian peer Lottomatica (LTMC.MI), backed by Apollo Global Management (APO.N), whose shares began trading in Milan on Wednesday. Cirsa, a casino operator, posted 552.5 million euros ($609.24 million) in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for 2022. Based on Lottomatica's valuation, Cirsa could be worth several billions of euros, including debt.

LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - U.S. buyout house Blackstone (BX.N) is weighing options for Dutch merchant bank NIBC, including a possible sale, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Blackstone has also been considering potential acquisitions in the absence of a sale, one person added. The Hague-based NIBC offers financing for industries such as automotive, commercial real estate, infrastructure and shipping, as well as retail mortgages. It has been exiting non-core businesses, including deal advisory and leveraged finance, in a bid to streamline its operations. The group had 22.8 billion euros of assets on its balance sheet at the end of last year and an equity value of around 2 billion euros ($2.21 billion), according to its 2022 annual accounts, which showed a profit of 179 million euros excluding non-recurring expenses.

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