Blackstone in talks to acquire minority stake in BC Partners

Bloomberg

A Blackstone Group LP unit that buys stakes in alternative asset managers is considering a minority investment in BC Partners, according to people familiar with the matter.
Discussions between Blac-kstone Strategic Capital Hol-dings and BC are at an early stage and no deal has been reached, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. BC, with offices in London, New York and Hamburg, has about $27 billion under management, partner Raymond Svider said on Bloomberg Television.
BC could use the potential cash injection to help develop existing businesses plus new strategies like real estate and credit, one of the people said. While some of BC’s peers, like Sweden’s EQT, are weighing going public, BC itself is more likely to opt for the minority stake sale route.
A spokeswoman for Blackstone declined to comment, while a BC representative had no immediate comment.
Blackstone and rivals, including arms of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Neuberger Berman Group, have raised multibillion-dollar fu-nds to acquire interests in firms that manage private
equity, real estate and other alternative investments.
While some firms have used proceeds to cash out founders, others have redeployed the money to diversify or commit additional money to existing funds. A minority interest in asset managers can give investors a share of ongoing fee income, which is relatively predictable for firms with several closed-end funds.
Svider spoke with Bloom-berg TV about his firm’s str-ategy and expansion plans.