Suppose Blackstone IPO will drop like FIG? Any thoughts? Fig is a dud out of the gate will Blackstone fall into the category "This time it'll be different?
I don't think Blackstone will be a dud out of the gate, however this is not something I would touch, right now its all great that private equity buyouts are making headlines taking billion dollar companies private. Largest one to date is TXU at around 45 billion, rumor has it that HD was to be taken private at $100 BILLION. Right now everything is all fine and great for the private equity firms, but once liquidity starts to dry up this is going to be a huge problem. There is just too much money being thrown around and they are leveraging themselves way to high. The last thing these private equity firms need is a bear market.
And that is another reason why they are going public. Companies like FIG and Blackstone have realized that out economy has been slowing down and while they have been extremely profitable, ultimately with the weakening dollar and housing markets as well as an unsure equity and bond market, they know how to get out on top so they go public. By doing so, it gives them a chance to have increased leverage as well as to slowly sell off assets and gain equity without taking it from the actual fund, but passing it off through investors. It's hard to gauge how Blackstone will trade compared to FIG because they are different, earnings, market cap, etc. But to say the least it will have a lot of pressure due to the way FIG traded on opening day and everyone will be watching it.