Blackstone Group

Debt is back - big deals may be close behind

In Heinz, investors gobbled up tons of debt at unprecedentedly cheap levels and with lenient terms.

By Lauren Silva Laughlin

FORTUNE -- Here's one reason buyout kings like Blackstone's Steve Schwarzman are eager to launch rival mega-bids for takeovers of companies like Dell: They know investors will give them gobs of debt at unprecedentedly cheap levels and with lenient terms. Just look at the way U.S. debt buyers gobbled up the MORE

Michael Dell's goodbye memo to Dave Johnson

Dell memo suggests amicable parting with former M&A boss David Johnson.

FORTUNE -- Earlier today I posed six questions about the Dell (DELL) situation. Among them was the current state of relations between Michael Dell and his former M&A chief Dave Johnson, who in January joined The Blackstone Group (BX).

Some folks say that the two remain tight, and that Johnson may be the only private equity investor alive who could convince MORE

6 questions about the Dell deal

Dell auction remains punctuated by question marks.

FORTUNE -- I spent much of yesterday working on Dell (what else?), but woke up with more questions than answers. So my top six are below. Oh, and for the sake of clarity, I'm now just going to refer to Michael Dell as "Michael" -- since writing intelligibly about both him and his eponymous company has become a bit confusing.

1. Why didn't Blackstone call Michael Dell? There MORE

Will Dell's rival bidders entice Michael Dell?

Dell gets rival offers, but neither would really take the company private.

FORTUNE -- Dell Inc. announced this morning that it received two acquisition bids during its "go-shop" process, and that both "could reasonably be expected to result in superior proposals" to the $13.65 per share offer submitted in February by Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners. Both deals, however, would include a public equity stub that would seem anathema to MORE

New Dell suitors don't make much sense

Don't expect a rival offer for Dell.

FORTUNE -- We are now 10 days away from the end of Dell Inc.'s "go-shop" period, during which the company can solicit superior bids to the existing $13.65 per share offer from Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners. I continue to be highly skeptical that such an offer will materialize.

Just take a look at those known to have signed nondisclosure agreements in exchange for MORE

Kravis: KKR is not Blackstone

A private equity firm by any other name..

FORTUNE -- Henry Kravis wants institutional investors to know he runs a private equity firm. That may sound obvious to those with even a fleeting knowledge of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), which Kravis co-founded 37 years ago, but it really is a subtle dig at rival The Blackstone Group (BX).

Speaking this morning at the SuperReturn International conference in Berlin, Kravis said the MORE

Big year for private equity stocks

Carlyle's earnings miss aside, it's been quite a run for listed private equity firms.

FORTUNE -- Private equity firm shares have been on a year-long tear, even though yesterday's headlines were about declines caused by The Carlyle Group's (CG) earnings miss. Makes me feel much better about my advice last May, which was the only time I've even flirted with the hazardous world of stock-picking:

I think there's potential upside to private MORE

Blackstone's unconventional debt wisdom

Cheap debt is bad for buyouts?

FORTUNE -- Credit is the fuel of private equity, often allowing buyout firms to contribute just 30% or 40% of acquisition prices. And the better the credit terms, the more private equity firms stand to gain.

So one would think today's near-zero interest rates are a boon for the industry, but The Blackstone Group's (BX) Tony James thinks the pendulum may have swung too far.

Speaking this MORE

Mr. Schwarzman's penguins

FORTUNE -- The Blackstone Group (BX) sometimes just really wants to meet with its portfolio company employees. So yesterday the private equity giant invited over a couple of penguins from Sea World, the amusement park operator that Blackstone is planning to either sell or take public early this year.

Okay, not exactly. Seems that SeaWorld is participating in a New York City trade show, and brought over some of its more MORE

Blackstone poaches Dell dealmaker

Blackstone looks to rebuild its tech private equity practice.

FORTUNE -- David Johnson is stepping down as senior vice president of strategy at Dell Inc. (DELL), in order to join The Blackstone Group (BX) as a partner focused on private equity deals in the tech sector. A Blackstone spokesman says that Johnson is expected to begin working at the firm in "a couple of weeks."

It should be interesting to see what sort MORE