Blackstone holds off on closing sixth fund

The Blackstone Group has yet to close its latest fund, Blackstone Capital Partners VI, despite an original 30 June target date, to accommodate investors requiring additional time before making commitments, a source familiar with the matter told PEO.  
 
A small number of investors had reportedly expressed interest in the fund before 30 June, but needed additional time before being able to invest.
 
In April, Tony James, president and chief operating officer of Blackstone, said the firm expected to raise $12 billion to $12.5 billion in capital for Fund VI, which began fundraising in 2008. The fund had collected $9.5 billion as of March.

“When we launched the fund, we thought it was going to be about $15 billion. [That target] got bigger over time. We basically stopped fundraising for a year during the [financial] crisis. There really was no point,” James told the investment board of the San Diego County Employees Retirement Association at a meeting in early April. SDCERA committed $100 million to the fund.