Blackstone targets $3b global energy fund

Blackstone's vehicle would be larger than natural resources funds currently being planned by KKR and Apollo Global Management, worth $1 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively, Bloomberg reported. It would also be the firm's first industry-focused fund. So far, most of its corporate private equity investments have come through a general pool.

Blackstone has diversified its business away from buyouts and is now involved in areas such as real estate, hedge funds and credit funds. Its real estate unit had $30 billion in fee-earning assets as of September 30, compared with $37 billion for its corporate-buyout unit. Credit activities, led by GSO Capital Partners, are now worth $28.7 billion, up from $10 billion in 2008, while the hedge fund-of-funds unit is responsible for $37.2 billion.

The firm invested $3.2 billion in the energy sector during the third quarter, accounting for half the total spent in private equity over the period. Notable past investments include US firm Kosmos Energy, which went public in 2004 at a price equal to 6x its initial investment. Blackstone and co-owner Warburg Pincus earlier turned down a $5 billion bid for Kosmos' Ghanaian assets from China National Offshore Oil Corp. and Ghana National Petroleum Corp.

Blackstone has been particularly active in India's energy sector, signing its third deal in 15 months in July, after reportedly agreeing to pay INR5 billion ($111 million) for a 25.2% stake in Visa Power, the power generation arm of Kolkata-based conglomerate Visa Group. Its previous investments in the sector were Monnet Power and Moser Baer Projects Private.

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• Topics
• Industrials
• Infrastructure
• Infrastructure
• Buyout
• The Blackstone Group
• USA
• Commodities
• energy
• KKR
• Apollo Global Management