Blackstone Inc has tapped two seasoned credit professionals from Värde Partners and Jefferies Financial Group as part of its strategy to expand beyond corporate debt investments into asset-based finance and infrastructure, according to a report by Bloomberg News.
The report cites unnamed sources familiar with the matter as confirming that Aneek Mamik, the former head of financial services at Värde, will join Blackstone in November as a senior managing director in New York, to focus on asset-based finance investments and head the financial services division within Blackstone Credit and Insurance (BXCI), a unit formed last year. Mamik previously spent over a decade at GE Capital, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Chris Yonan meanwhile, previously the Co-Head of Power, Utilities, and Infrastructure at Jefferies, will start at Blackstone in October as the head of European infrastructure, based in London. Yonan, who prior to Jeffries held roles at Morgan Stanley and Barclays Plc, will concentrate on investments including
Both Mamik and Yonan will be joining BXCI as partners in the infrastructure and asset-based credit group, which is led by Rob Horn, Blackstone’s global head of infrastructure and asset-based credit, and currently manages approximately $75 in assets having committed more than $20bn so far this year, according to a Blackstone spokesperson.
Blackstone is making a concerted effort to grow its presence in the investment-grade credit market, which encompasses debt backed by consumer loans, data center financing, and projects supporting the energy transition. This demand could push the private-lending market to $25 trillion, according to
Michael Zawadzki, Global Chief Investment Officer of Blackstone Credit and Insurance, revealed in an interview with Bloomberg Television in June that the firm is making a concerted effort to increase its presence in the investment-grade credit market as part of a wider push to grow private credit assets from about $330bn currently to $1tn within the next decade.
