Blackstone Group co-founder Peter Peterson has elected to donate $1 billion -- which he calls the "vast majority" of his "net proceeds" from the company -- to his very own Peter G. Peterson Foundation. The foundation prints a mission statement on its website:

Our mission is to increase public awareness of the nature and urgency of key economic challenges threatening America's future and accelerate action on them. To meet these challenges successfully, we work to bring Americans together to find sensible, sustainable solutions that transcend age, party lines and ideological divides in order to achieve real results.

Continue reading Peter Peterson gives $1 billion to anti-national debt group

Peter Peterson gives $1 billion to anti-national debt group originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I'm not sure how management at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LEH) has time to run the business. What's more, with all the turbulence, I'm wondering if many of the employees are working mostly on parsing rumors and fine-tuning resumes.

Of course, this week Lehman got rid of its CFO, Erin Callan and president, Joseph Gregory. The company also raised $6 billion, which was quite dilutive. So from Monday to Friday, the stock price plunged from $33 to $25.81.

Yet, by Friday, things were perking up. The stock price shot up 13.7%. Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, the, who is the former CEO of AIG (NYSE: AIG), said he bought shares. This was also the case with BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) and Putnam Investments.

But there was something else: Wall Street was abuzz with buyout rumors.

In fact, according to a report from CNBC, it looks like the senior management team of Lehman is meeting this weekend (which is a rare thing). Are they talking to possible suitors? Or, is it to review the figures for Q2? Both?

Despite all this, the fact remains that Lehman's potential suitors are also distressed. So, even if there is a deal, the valuation is likely to be muted.

But there is an interesting scenario: Blackstone Group LLP (NYSE: BX) as a buyer or major investor. The firm is well capitalized and may want an investment banking platform. Moreover, the firm's cofounders -- Stephen Schwarzman (CEO) and Peter Peterson (Senior Chairman) -- were formerly with Lehman (back in the 1980s).

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

Blackstone to buy up Lehman? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 15 Jun 2008 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When talking about Blackstone (NYSE: BX), people usually refer to Stephen Schwarzman. However, there is actually a cofounder of the firm; that is, Peter Peterson.

Although, he's not a pure finance junkie. Some of his prior gigs include: Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the CEO of Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH), the CEO of Bell and Howell, and even the Secretary of Commerce (under President Richard Nixon).

And, of course, he's a very wealthy man. He cashed out $1.8 billion from the Blackstone IPO.

OK, so what's next? Well, he has formed the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. Basically, he wants to create a platform to deal with major issues, such as Social Security, budget deficits, education, energy, the environment, and the spread of nuclear weapons.

If anything, the foundation won't lack for resources. After all, Peterson has pumped a cool $1 billion into it. Apparently, he's prepared to pump more money into it.

Continue reading Blackstone cofounder wants to save the world

Blackstone cofounder wants to save the world originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 17 Feb 2008 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hilton (NYSE: HLT) volatility and volume elevated prior to Blackstone paying $26 billion. HLT announced Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) will acquire all the outstanding common stock of HLT for $47.50 per share. HLT closed at $36.05. I reported near the close of trading on 7/3/07 "option volume & volatility Elevated as HLT rallies 6%." HLT total volume of 32,490 contracts and HLT July option implied volatility of 39 was aggressive, above its 26-week average of 31 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Daily Option Update is provided by Stock Options Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Option update 7-3-07: Blackstone purchasing Hilton originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Jul 2007 06:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.