Blackstone is attempting to offload more than $2bn of stakes it holds in private investment funds in one of the biggest deals of its kind, offering a test of investors’ appetite for ageing private equity vehicles.
The New York-based firm is marketing a so-called collateralised fund obligation that will bundle more than $2bn of stakes in leveraged buyout funds into bonds to sell to investors and insurers, according to people familiar with the matter.
The deal would provide an infusion of cash to investors in a Blackstone Strategic Partners fund, the firm’s unit that invests in other private equity groups’ funds. It is unclear if Blackstone will ultimately go ahead with the securitisation or seek to sell the stakes in a secondary transaction, one person briefed on the matter said.