 |
|
|
The private equity and
investment management firm Blackstone Group announced on Thursday the future acquisition
of GSO Capital Partners LP for the sum of $930 million, as well as its plans to
buyback $500 million worth of its own share stock. Also, Blackstone agreed to
pay $620 million in cash and stock upon closing the deal, and $310 million more
in the next five years.
The purchase will double the $10
billion credits the leverage company currently holds, adding up to $21 billion
worth of assets, “one of the largest credit platforms in the alternative asset
management business,” as Blackstone
Chief Executive Officer Stephen Schwarzman said in a statement. He added: “Given
the current dislocation in the credit markets, this is an ideal time to create
a more powerful, diversified platform.”
According to the Blackstone press
release, the acquisition of GSO, which is an alternative asset manager with
multi-strategy credit hedge fund, mezzanine fund, a senior debt fund and CLO
vehicles, will “augment Blackstone’s global alternative investment platform in
the credit area, adding several new lines of business and creating significant
synergies and opportunities for the firm.” The press release also mentions that
GSO will consequently have an investment platform enhancement opportunity following
its acquisition by Blackstone.
Blackstone also mentioned that
its unit repurchase program is meant to offset the issuance of units to GSO, by
“purchasing the same amount of units from existing holders,” said Hamilton E.
James, President and Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone. The repurchase will
depend on a series of factors, such as market conditions, legal requirements
and so forth. Upon announcing the new acquisition,
Blackstone also set a conference call on January 10 in order to further discuss
the deal with GSO. The conference call will also be available on the internet
through Blackstone’s official website.
© 2007 - 2008 - eFluxMedia