Blackstone has already been stepping in to finance multibillion dollar real estate deals, and there may be more that emerge similar to the $17 billion portfolio sale of Signature Bank debt, Gray said. In November, the world’s biggest alternative asset manager bid for the portfolio of commercial-property loans from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s sale of Signature Bank debt. The collapsed lender was seized by regulators in March last year.
Blackstone has grown into a powerhouse that touches all aspects of the economy, lending to businesses and financing infrastructure projects. Its assets hit $1 trillion in July 2023, making it the world’s largest publicly traded alternative asset manager.
Its shares surged 83% last year, including reinvested dividends, beating its biggest peers as well as the S&P 500, which returned about 25%. Blackstone became a member of the stock gauge in 2023. Blackstone’s shares have gained 8.3% this year.
“As investors, sometimes, one of the risks is that you miss it by being overly cautious and I think now is probably a good time before rates come down,” Gray said.
“As the real estate market bottoms, as rates start to come down and the Fed at some point starts to cut, as well as the lack of new supply — that should be more constructive for commercial real estate and we think that will be a positive for BREIT,” Gray said.
The environment for fundraising is getting better compared to about six months ago, though it’s a bit slower on the institutional side, he said. Investors are more enthused about private credit, or secondaries, and insurance clients are increasingly realizing the benefits, he added.
(source:Bloomberg)
