The Blackstone Group has announced the final closing of its latest global private equity fund, Blackstone Capital Partners V, with total commitments of USD21.7bn.
The Blackstone Group has announced the final closing of its latest global private equity fund, Blackstone Capital Partners V, with total commitments of USD21.7bn. Like its predecessor funds, BCP V will be invested across a broad range of sectors and geographical regions.
Investments with a total enterprise value of approximately USD84bn have already been committed to BCP V, include Nielsen Company, Michaels Stores, Alliance Data Systems, Biomet, Freescale Semiconductor, Hilton Hotels, and Center Parcs.
The combined equity participation in all transactions committed to date already accounts for two-thirds of the fund’s available capital. Blackstone was assisted in its fundraising by Park Hill Group, a group affiliate.
Since the Blackstone Group launched its private equity investment business in 1987, the firm has raised a total of around USD67bn for investment in alternative assets, making it one of the world’s largest independent alternative asset managers.
Blackstone also manages around USD23bn in discretionary marketable alternative asset programmes, approximately USD4bn in proprietary hedge funds, and more than USD2bn in mutual funds.
Blackstone’s private equity business currently has investments in 49 portfolio companies with combined annual revenues in excess of USD90bn and employing more than 500,000 people worldwide.
‘This further vote of confidence from our investors is extremely gratifying,’ says Blackstone chairman, chief executive and co-founder Stephen A. Schwarzman. ‘The record-breaking amount of capital at our disposal allows us to continue our leadership role in private equity investing on a global basis.’
The Blackstone Group is one of the largest independent alternative asset managers in the world with businesses include the management of corporate private equity funds, real estate opportunity funds, funds of hedge funds, mezzanine funds, senior debt funds, proprietary hedge funds and closed-end mutual funds, as well as financial advisory services including mergers and acquisitions advisory, restructuring and reorganisation advisory and fund placement services.
