How Blackstone landed $20 bn from Saudis with fee and other concessions

Blackstone made a variety of concessions, the majority of which have remained outside the public's view

When Saudi Arabia pledged as much as $20 billion to help Blackstone Group LP build the world’s largest infrastructure fund, the kingdom wanted to be rewarded for its unprecedented commitment.

One way Blackstone agreed to do just that: For every dollar that any other investor pays the asset manager to oversee its cash, Saudi Arabia gets to pay 15 cents less. That fee discount -- linked to a portion of revenue from other investors -- is just one of the breaks that the sovereign wealth fund won last year as Blackstone set out to amass a record $40 billion war chest,