Boston, MA 08/25/2014 (wallstreetpr) – The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX), a private equity firm that boasts more than $37 billion in market cap, is reportedly in talks that could see it back a Hong Kong-based hedge fund with a special focus on distressed fund, Bloomberg stated in an article quoting people with insider knowledge.
The hedge fund, Arkkan Capital Management, was started by a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) executive, Jason Brown, who was in charge of the bank’s Special Situation Group. The sources said the new distressed fund, Arkkan Capital Management, will mainly focus on opportunities in Asia, but also have the flexibility to tap opportunities in other markets outside Asia.
A return to Asia after crisis
If the deal with Arkkan Capital Management is true, Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) will be making its second backing of an Asian-based fund since the global financial crisis of 2008. In the other Asian-based hedge fund backing, Blackstone helped Senrigan Capital Group, a Hong Kong-based firm, to increase its assets to about $1 billion in a period of less than two years.
Brown, who started Arkkan Capital Management that is said to be in deal-talks with The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX), is well-versed with the Asian distressed fund situation. At Goldman’s Special Situation Group that he headed from 2011 until last year, he dealt with investment in distressed debt and that unit generated about $4.3 billion for GS in pretax earnings in 2013. That was the biggest segment contribution out of the bank’s four segments.
Interest in energy
As for Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX), the firm can be seen going even deeper in natural gas where it was recently reported to be in a $1.2 billion talk to acquire a Louisiana shale property. It was in talks with Royal Dutch Shell to acquire a 50% stake in the Haynesville Shale, which is a rock formation that measures about 107,000 net acres.
The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) has not commented on the rumored plans to back Brown’s Arkkan Capital Management.
