NEW YORK: Blackstone Group LP, the world's largest manager of alternative assets such as private equity and real estate, said on Thursday it would convert from a partnership to a corporation, in a bid to get more investors into its stock.
Blackstone is hoping the move will boost its share price, which has for more than a decade traded at a discount to traditional asset managers such as BlackRock Inc.It will a remove a tax shield it enjoys now, in exchange for enabling investors such as mutual funds and index trackers to buy the stock.
Blackstone also announced first-quarter earnings on Thursday, reporting distributable earnings - the actual cash available for paying dividends - of US$538 million in the first quarter, up from US$502 million a year earlier.