BX Blackstone Inc

By Isaac Taylor 

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (August 4, 2020).

Blackstone Group Inc. has collected at least $3.5 billion so far in its latest Strategic Capital fundraising to back a strategy of investing in other private fund managers, regulatory filings show.

The fund is expected to collect around $4 billion before wrapping up and will fuel a strategy that focuses on acquiring stakes in established alternative asset managers with proven track records and good reputations, according to a person familiar with the matter. The strategy calls for leveraging Blackstone's purchasing power and expertise in selecting asset managers to back.

Along with making capital commitments to fund managers, the strategy provides strategic advice, including in such areas as global portfolio operations, communicating with limited partners and capital allocations, according to Blackstone's website.

Blackstone's Strategic Capital unit last year agreed to invest EUR500 million ($588.6 million) in U.K. private-equity firm BC Partners, WSJ Pro Private Equity has reported. The deal was expected to provide BC Partners with permanent capital for long-term investments in its business.

Earlier last year, Strategic Capital acquired a minority interest in GI Partners, a midmarket-focused buyout shop.

Stake sales by fund managers can provide liquidity for partners that wish to leave. Other major players in the market for stakes in general partners include Neuberger Berman Group LLC's Dyal Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s Petershill LP.

New York-based Blackstone received its first commitments for its Blackstone Strategic Capital Holdings II LP and related vehicles about a year ago, regulatory filings indicate.

The previous fundraising for the strategy wrapped up in 2015 with $3.3 billion in capital, the person familiar said.

Write to Isaac Taylor at isaac.taylor@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 04, 2020 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

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