Boston, MA 06/11/2014 (wallstreetpr) – The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) puts its money where it believes good profits can be realized if patience is exercised. That investment thesis is about to payoff for the private equity firm as it moves to unlock cash in various investments this year.
The company is set to book profits for its investors through the sale of a stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE:HLT), Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE:BRX) and Extended Stay America Inc (NYSE:STAY).
Selling Hilton While High
According to a regulatory filing by Hilton, Blackstone will sell up to 90 million shares of the company in a secondary offering while granting underwriters, which include Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), to purchase up to 13.5 million additional shares. That move would see the position of Blackstone in Hilton reduced from the present 76 percent to just about 66 percent.
Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) will be selling stake in Hilton at a time when the hotel company has seen its market value up 17 percent since IPO in December last year. The $2.35 billion IPO in December followed $26 billion purchase of Hilton in 2007 in what turned to be the largest ever investment by Blackstone by the amount of an equity stake.
Because it did not sell its shares during the IPO, Blackstone had nearly 726 million shares in Hilton stake as of March 31. According to Stephen Schwarzman, Chairman and CEO of Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX), the group considers remaining a large shareholder in Hilton for many years in the future.
Booking Profits For Investors
After successful investment rounds and IPOs, Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) can be seen moving to book profits for its shareholders. In addition to Hilton, Blackstone also plans to sell at least 25 million shares in Brixmor (NYSE:BRX) and 21 million shares in Extended Stay (NYSE:STAY) where it has a joint interest with Center bridge Partners LP and Paulson & Co.
The sale of a stake in the aforementioned companies follows success IPOs that have seen shares take significant forward leap in a matter of months.
