In light of the success of the Fortress Investment Group LLC (FIG) IPO, the buzz is swirling on what private equity firm will be next to go public.

How about Blackstone?

Well, probably not. This is according to a report in Reuters.

Blackstone's chief, Stephen Schwarzman, was on a panel at the Super Return conference in Germany (this is pretty big event in the private equity world).

He pointed to some flubs, such as the IPOs from KKR and Apollo. In fact, he called the public markets "overrated."

Yes, Schwarzman is not shy.

But, there may be a couple other reasons why he does not want to go public. First of all, it is likely to be a distraction. The IPO process is time-consuming. There are also ongoing public disclosures.

In fact, a big advantage for private equity firms is speed. This was likely a factor for why Blackstone won the bidding for Equity Office Properties (NYSE: EOP).

Besides, if Blackstone did go public, Schwarzman would have to disclose his compensation. And, in light of the backlash on this topic, it's probably best he keep things private.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Over the years, commercial real estate has made a variety of people multi-billionaires. Actually, in the buyout of Equity Office Properties (NYSE:EOP), we are seeing some of these all-stars compete on a grand scale. This is detailed in a great story in Bloomberg.com. Ok, let's take a look at the roster:

• Sam Zell: He is the cofounder and CEO of EOP. He got his start, back in the 1970s, as a skillful investor in distressed properties. His nickname became the "Gravedancer." Forbes has his net worth pegged at $4.5 billion.
• Stephen Schwarzman: He is the CEO and cofounder the Blackstone Group. True, a big part of his wealth has come from private equity. However, Blackstone is one of the world's largest real estate investors. His networth is about $2.5 billion.
• Steven Roth: He is the cofounder and CEO of Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO). His networth is about $1.1 billion. Yes, in terms of net worth, Roth is lagging. However, he now has the high bid for EOP – at about $37.6 billion. Moreover, he is being joined by Barry Sternlicht, who built Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT).
  

True, if Blackstone loses the deal, it will get a $200 million break-up fee. But, this is chump change. Actually, it looks like Blackstone wants to make a counter bid. Funny enough, if Blackstone wins, it's a good bet that the firm will sell of some of its properties to Roth.

All in all, this shows that mega real estate moguls still see potential in commercial real estate -- that is except Zell, who wants to cash out. And, of course, he's the richest of the whole group. And about to get even richer.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Back in 1985, Peter Peterson and Stephen Schwarzman pooled together $400,000 and started a private equity firm: The Blackstone Group. Now one of the biggest in the world and has been a player in a variety of mega deals in 2006.In the Financial Times, there's an interview with Schwarzman (who is the current CEO).

First of all, he's not a fan of Sarbanes-Oxley, the law Congress passed in order to deal with the blow-ups like Enron and WorldCom. This law has made it difficult for companies to go public. This is important to private equity firms, as they often need a way to get liquidity for their buyouts – which often means selling the company into the public markets.

Next, Blackstone has been active in real estate plays. His analysis is fairly straightforward: 1) the economy is expanding, creating demand for commercial real estate and 2) there has been little supply because of replacement costs (commodities such as steel, cement and so on) and regulations. As a result, rents are increasing – making it much easier to get a buyout done.

Schwarzman even talks about the apparent lack of bidding on private equity deals (at least for the big ones). Yes, the conspiracy theory is that there is collusion. But, of course, Schwarzman begs to differ. His reasoning: in the buyout process, the private equity firms get the same information. And, since they use typical valuation approaches, it should be no surprise that valuations are similar.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates DealProfiles.com.