Blackstone Announces $8 Billion Final Close of Second Core Private Equity Fund

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blackstone (NYSE: BX) today announced the final close of the second vintage of its long-hold private equity strategy, Blackstone Core Equity Partners (BCEP II). BCEP II was oversubscribed and closed at its hard cap of $8 billion, which is more than 70 percent larger than its predecessor fund and represents the largest amount of capital raised from outside investors for a long-hold private equity vehicle in history.

Initial discussions with investors for establishing Blackstone’s core private equity business began in 2014, which led to the first close of the first vintage of this strategy in 2016. This platform is designed to hold investments for longer periods than traditional private equity and targets investing in high-quality, market-leading companies.

Joe Baratta, Blackstone’s Global Head of Private Equity, said: “We are grateful for the strong vote of confidence from our investors. The success of our pioneering Core Private Equity platform is a testament to the quality and depth of our private equity team. The current volatile and unpredictable environment reinforces the importance of investing in very high-quality companies with a long-term focus.”

Blackstone’s private equity business has a wide range of dedicated strategies focusing on traditional corporate private equity, core private equity, Asia, energy, and life sciences – all at scale on a global basis. In the last year, Blackstone has raised the largest private equity fund and largest life sciences private fund in history.

About Blackstone Private Equity

With $184 billion of assets under management, Blackstone’s private equity business has been a global leader since 1985. We uncover value by identifying great companies and enhancing their performance by providing strategic capital and outstanding management talent. We aim to grow stronger enterprises, create jobs, and enable our portfolio companies to build lasting value for our investors, their employees and all stakeholders.