Blackstone Group said it will pay as much as $930 million to acquire GSO Capital Partners, a fund managerspecializing in leveraged finance, and said it would buy back up to $500million in shares.
“The combination of GSO’sbusinesses with our existing corporate debt operations will produce one of thelargest credit platforms in the alternative asset management business, with over $21billion of total assets under management,” said Blackstone Chairman and CEOStephen Schwarzman in a statement “Given the current dislocation in the credit markets, this is anideal time to create a more powerful, diversified platform from which to growBlackstone’s business.”
Blackstone said the purchase pricewill consist of cash and Blackstone Holdings units currently valued at $620million to be transferred at closing, plus a purchase price of up to $310million to be paid over the next five years contingent upon the realization ofspecified earnings targets over that period. In addition, compensatory paymentsmay be paid based on vesting and performance.
GSO Capital, a
The firm was founded in 2005 bythree former Credit Suisse employees, including Bennett Goodman, managingpartner of the alternatives division at Credit Suisse, and Douglas Ostrover,chairman of Credit Suisse’s leveraged finance group.