Blackstone's stock is 'dimwitted' no more

OK, as for the Q1 numbers: Blackstone sustained a $231.6 million loss for Q1, with revenues down 31% to $47.1 million. Simply put, the private equity business has been dead (except for a few exits, such as the $2.9 billion deal for Stiefel Laboratories). And, the real estate portfolio is under extreme pressure.

But, there are still some silver linings -- such as the hedge fund business (which attracted $1.5 billion in new capital). The advisory business was also strong.

However, a nice surprise was the resumption of the $0.30 dividend. After all, Blackstone has a lot of liquidity. So why not give some back to investors?

Finally, the fact remains that Blackstone has ultimate control over the private equity portfolio. That is, the firm does not have to exit it positions until it feels it's the right time. And, it also helps that many of the portfolio companies are in non-cycle industries and have little debt coming due in 2009 and 2010. In other words, Blackstone will likely see some strong returns once the economy begins a sustained recovery.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and the founder of BizEquity, a free online business valuation tool for small businesses. You can reach him at his personal blog.