Blackstone Capital Partners Asia closes first fund at approximately $2.3 bn

Blackstone on Wednesday announced that it has held its final close on its first Asian private equity fund, Blackstone Capital Partners Asia (BCP Asia), reaching its hard cap (including over-subscription). Together with commitments from Blackstone and its affiliates, BCP Asia has approximately $2.3 billion of capital commitments. This, coupled with associated commitments from Blackstone's global buyout fund, gives the firm a minimum of $3.8 billion of equity to invest in Asia.

Joe Baratta, Blackstone's Global Head of Private Equity, said: ‘‘We are thankful for our investors' support and believe we are well-positioned to seize the ongoing opportunities in Asia. The region continues to experience strong growth compared to other major markets, presenting compelling investment opportunities across sectors.''

With approximately $111 billion of assets under management, Blackstone's private equity business has been a global leader since 1985. It uncovers value by identifying great companies and enhancing their performance by providing strategic capital and outstanding management talent. 

Meanwhile, Blackstone (NYSE:BX) also announced that it has held its final close on its second Asian opportunistic real estate fund, Blackstone Real Estate Partners Asia II (BREP Asia II), reaching its hard cap. Hard cap refers to the final closing target for a fund, after over-subscription. 

Together with commitments from Blackstone and its affiliates, BREP Asia II has approximately $7.1 billion of capital commitments. Chris Heady, Blackstone's Head of Real Estate Asia, said: ‘‘We are deeply grateful for the ongoing trust of our limited partners and continue to see exciting opportunities to deploy capital across the region.''

Kathleen McCarthy, Global Co-Head of Blackstone Real Estate, said: ‘‘We are eager to build on the success of our first Asia real estate fund and believe we are well-positioned to capitalize on the continued strong growth the region is experiencing.''

Ken Caplan, Global Co-Head of Blackstone Real Estate, added: ‘‘The size of this fund  — the largest ever dedicated to real estate investing in Asia — gives us flexibility to pursue a range of opportunities and commit capital with speed and scale.''

Blackstone is a global leader in real estate investing. Blackstone's real estate business was founded in 1991 and has approximately $120 billion in investor capital under management. Its real estate portfolio includes hotel, office, retail, industrial and residential properties in the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America. It also operates one of the leading real estate finance platforms, including management of the publicly traded Blackstone Mortgage Trust.