Blackstone in $600 million China agricultural deal: sources

2010-03-17T06:33:04Z

<div><p>HONG KONG/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A consortium led by Blackstone Group has agreed to invest about $600 million in a Chinese agricultural company ahead of its planned Hong Kong listing, sources with knowledge of the deal said on Wednesday.<...

KKR files for long-awaited NYSE listing

2010-03-12T08:15:13Z

<div><p>PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co <KKR.UL> has filed to list $2.2 billion in shares on the New York Stock Exchange, moving forward in its long effort to bec...

UK's Pru plans $20 billion rights offering

2010-02-28T19:00:47Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Britain's Prudential Plc <PRU.L> plans to do a rights offering of about $20 billion to finance a $35.5 billion purchase of American International Group's &lt...

SeaWorld resumes whale shows after trainer's death

2010-02-27T10:30:12Z

<div><p>ST. PETERSBURG, Florida - SeaWorld resumed its killer whale shows on Saturday, three days after a trainer was killed by a whale at the Orlando, Florida, theme park.</p><p>Trainer Dawn Brancheau, 40, died on Wednesday after Tilikum, a 12,0...

Blackstone nails down some commitments to China fund

2010-02-25T21:00:08Z

<div><p>HONG KONG/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Buyout giant Blackstone has nailed down three commitments so far to its landmark yuan-denominated fund for China, with the country's national pension fund expected to be a major investor.</p><p>Blackstone Group LP announced plans in August to launch a...

Blackstone posts better-than-expected earnings

2010-02-25T08:00:10Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private equity giant Blackstone Group <BX.N> posted better-than-expected earnings on Thursday, driven by increased performance fees and improved valuations of its portfolios.</p><p>Private equity firms suffered in 2008-9 from sliding stock markets, which reduced the va...

Lawsuit claims Blackstone underpaid assistants

2010-02-24T14:31:08Z

<div><p>BOSTON (Reuters) - An administrative assistant at Blackstone Group LP has sued the U.S. private equity firm for not paying her overtime despite regularly scheduling her to work more than 40 hours per week.</p><p>In a lawsuit filed in

Blackstone to cut Hilton debt by almost $4 billion

2010-02-24T06:45:09Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private equity firm Blackstone Group LP <BX.N> will cut the $20 billion debt load of its hotel chain, Hilton Worldwide Inc, by almost $4 billion in a restructuring, according to court documents.</p><p>Blackstone has...

Blackstone, Hilton lenders agree on debt: source

2010-02-19T19:45:13Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private equity giant Blackstone Group <BX.N> has come to an agreement to restructure its Hilton hotels chain debt, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday.</p><p>The agreement with Hilton's lende...

Graham Packaging shares rise in IPO debut

2010-02-22T10:07:01Z

<div id="subtitle">Blackstone-backed Graham Packaging shares rise after pared-back IPO raises $166.7 million</div><div><p>Shares of Blackstone-backed Graham Packaging are rising after its pared-back IPO raised $166.7 million.</p><p>The BEIJING (Reuters) - China Investment Corp &lt;CIC.UL&gt;, the country's $300 billion sovereign wealth fund, has made its biggest U.S. equity bets in natural resources and financial stocks.&a...

Ferrero cools on Cadbury as options fade

2010-02-22T23:50:01Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Already seen as a long-shot bidder, Italian chocolate maker Ferrero's interest in Cadbury Plc has cooled as the hurdles of getting financing and finding suitable partners before the deadline becomes increasingly daunting, sources familiar with the situation said.</p><p>With ...

Blackstone's Wien sees strong 2010 U.S. GDP, profits

2010-02-23T01:33:58Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. economic growth as measured by real gross domestic product will top 5 percent in 2010 and the unemployment rate fall below 9 percent, said longtime Wall Street strategist Byron Wien.</p><p>Wien, who correctly cal...

Swiss watchdog to examine Orange/Sunrise deal

2010-02-23T08:53:29Z

<div><p>ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland's competition watchdog will examine closely the planned merger between France Telecom's &lt;FTE.PA&gt; Orange and Danish-owned Sunrise to ensure the grouping does not dominate the Swiss mobile market.</p><p&...

HEDGE YOUR BETS LIKE THE BIG BOYS

2010-02-23T11:23:46Z

<div><h1>HEDGE YOUR BETS LIKE THE BIG BOYS </h1><p>Institutional investors have long used private equity and hedge funds to achieve overall returns far higher than those eked out by individuals. In the 10 years ended Dec. 31, 2008, Hedge Fund Research's Fund Weighted Composite Index gained 7% per year, on average, while the Omaha on the Hudson </h1><p>Kohlberg Kravis &amp; Roberts' long-awaited debut as a publicly traded firm is reviving the debate over whether private equity can please two masters. Pension funds, endowments, and wealthy families made KKR's founders and their buyout brethren billionaires by pouring $1.2 ...

AB-Inbev completes sale of parks for $2.3B-plus

2010-02-23T22:24:28Z

<div id="subtitle">Anheuser-Busch InBev completes sale of Seaworld, Busch Gardens to Blackstone for $2.3B-plus</div><div><p>Anheuser-Busch InBev has competed the sale of its 10 theme parks, incl...

STEVE SCHWARZMAN STARTS WARMING UP

2010-02-24T00:24:27Z

<div><h1>STEVE SCHWARZMAN STARTS WARMING UP </h1><p>At the height of the private equity boom, no firm was flying higher than Blackstone Group, the juggernaut founded by Pete Peterson and Steve Schwarzman. In the past couple of yea...

Blackstone-owned Pinnacle buys Birds Eye for $1.3B

2010-02-24T03:20:59Z

<div id="subtitle">Blackstone-owned Pinnacle Foods Group buys Birds Eye Foods for $1.3 billion</div><div><p>Packaged foods company Pinnacle Foods Group is buying Birds Eye Foods, the nation's largest frozen food ...

Blackstone's Pinnacle to buy Birds Eye: report

2010-02-24T03:30:22Z

<div><p>(Reuters) - Blackstone Group's &lt;BX.N&gt; Pinnacle Brands Corp is likely to buy U.S. frozen vegetable company

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