Report: Blackstone Going Public By TSC Staff 3/16/2007 9:50 AM EDT Private-equity giant Blackstone Group is set to go public, according to a report on CNBC Friday. The firm is expected to file for an initial public offering within the next few weeks, the news channel said. Blackstone is one of the biggest private equity firms in the world, and its IPO would come at a time when private equity firms have been taking out public companies at a rapid clip. Recently, Blackstone was involved in the $39 billion purchase of Equity Office Properties -- the biggest leveraged buyout in history. According to CNBC, fellow private equity heavyweights Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Carlyle Group are also exploring going public, but those moves wouldn't occur until later this year or in 2008. A private-equity IPO could have a huge reception on Wall Street. Last month, Fortress Investment Group (FIG - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) became the first hedge fund to go public, and shares surged 68% on their first day of trading.
Oh the irony of it all....... A private company that takes public companies private..... Now going public These guys are Gordon Gekko to the tenth power
They are paying a premium to take those company private, and turn around resell themself to the public. Ouch!
I am not big into predictions, but I would place a bet on this with my own money: Anyone without a private placement that buys into this much hyped IPO is likely to be licking their wounds for a long, long time. ...much worse than Fortress Investment Group, which may decline much further than the $37 it traded at on IPO day (It is now around $27 - who knows how low it will go), especially if we get a sharper and deeper correction. These guys bought the most expensive shit at the most bloated prices, all with OPM, at the peak of the cycle. There are without question a few gems they hold that would be resilient to the inevitable corrections and recessions that we will experience in their bag, but I will guarantee you those gems are surrounded by plenty of turds, too. OPM. Take it. Buy shit hardly without regard to price with it. Pay yourself exorbitant fees while doing so. Boast about how being 'private' and not having to deal with public regulation and scrutiny is the best thing since sliced bread, then, when the market tops, and within 2 weeks of making such statements, leak plans that you're taking your biz public with an IPO float (and plan on making even MORE money in that process). You couldn't script this shit if you worked in Hollywood.