Like just about all other private equity firms, Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) reported a horrible Q3, with losses of $502.5 million, or $0.44 per share. However, the firm was fairly optimistic on the overall value of its sprawling portfolio of companies. That is, the writedown was only about 7%.

As a result, some investors were naturally skeptical - and the stock price of Blackstone continued to slide.

Well, this week, the CEO of Blackstone, Stephen Schwarzman, opined on the matter at a Merrill Lynch investor conference. Basically, he was mostly rosy and thinks there are good valuations in the marketplace. But, paradoxically, he said the Blackstone equity portfolio is in good shape.

And, in general, he has a point. If you take a look at the history of private equity, the best investment periods are in tough times (such as the early 1990s and 2001).

Continue reading Blackstone's equity portfolio is hunky-dory, or so Schwarzman claims

Blackstone's equity portfolio is hunky-dory, or so Schwarzman claims originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

No doubt, Barack Obama is an amazing speaker. Even his opponents grudgingly agree.

Yet he has misspoken on several occasions. His comment that mentioned "bitter" Americans took a toll on his campaign. And he is being lampooned in the blogosphere and on talk shows for his slip that he had visited all "57 states."

Entrepreneurs can learn from his talents -- and his slip-ups. In other words, when making a pitch -- or a speech -- you need to be very careful what you say. You need to think like a politician.

Of course, even top business leaders can make big-time blunders. Just look at Steve Schwarzman, the CEO of The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX). At a private investor conference, he said the following about his aborted $1.7 billion buyout of PHH Corp. (from a piece in the NY Post):

Trying to buy a mortgage bank in the midst of the subprime crisis was the equivalent of being a noodle salesman in Nagasaki when the atomic bomb went off. Not a lot of noodles left or even a person -- and that's what happened to us on this deal.

It was certainly a puzzling and unsympathetic comment.

Continue reading Entrepreneur's Journal: Speech lessons from Obama

Entrepreneur's Journal: Speech lessons from Obama originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 18 May 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of our Money Face-Offs feature. Let us know who you think comes out ahead in this head-to-head match-up, and check out our other Money Face-Off posts.

Stephen A. Schwarzman, co-founder of the Blackstone Group vs. Henry Kravis, co-founder of KKR. A showdown so delicious, it's already been immortalized on Page Six -- Schwarzman calls Kravis a "one-trick pony," Kravis calls Schwarzman "the poster boy for greed." Who is more arrogant? More eccentric? Richer? Only the planners of their lavish parties can tell ...

The two have been in a high-stakes tennis match of sorts for years in every financially-oriented aspect of their lives, starting with the companies they target, continuing through their more personal acquisitions and not even ending in their contributions to charity.

Nope. In the world of private equity, KKR had always been the hugest, the most storied, the most secret and powerful. KKR was responsible for the 1988 leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco, inspiration for thousands of MBAs, as well as a book and a movie. Not many financial deals have inspired so much as a little sonnet, but this, this was the stuff of legend.

Part of that legend? Kravis' formidable ego.

Continue reading Money Face-Off: Steve Schwarzman vs. Henry Kravis

Money Face-Off: Steve Schwarzman vs. Henry Kravis originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 16 Sep 2007 13:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As I posted earlier this month, Blackstone Group's CEO Stephen Schwarzman gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal with a compelling theme -- Schwarzman is the Napoleon of private equity. Napoleon-watch tracks his moves on the business battleground.

Despite fears of legislation that would increase the tax that investors pay on the income from Blackstone, the Wall Street Journal reports that investors are clamoring for the soon-to--be publicly traded units of Blackstone's master limited partnership.

Meanwhile, Blackstone is clipping the fees of the advisors who will help take Blackstone public. Bloomberg News reports that the 17 banks taking it public will get a fee totaling a mere 3.6% of their fraction of the IPO amount -- $170 million -- a bit more than half of the 6.2% IPO fee average. But there's quite a bit of trading going on here. By giving every investment bank a piece of the IPO business, Blackstone is assuring that none of their analysts will criticize the deal. And then there's the promise of big fees down the road to help Blackstone finance and close future deals with its $19.6 billion fund. Blackstone paid $571.4 million in such fees in 2006.

Continue reading Napoleon-watch: Blackstone's IPO to pop, advisors and investors to get clipped

Napoleon-watch: Blackstone's IPO to pop, advisors and investors to get clipped originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 Jun 2007 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.