Could Blackstone go fishing for deals with new $22bn-plus fund?
The Blackstone Group has just raised more than $22 billion from investors for its latest private equity fund. With this mountain of money could the US-based buyout giant look at seafood mergers and acquisitions (M&A)?
Given the increased private equity appetite for seafood M&A, maybe, according to Undercurrent News sources. Blackstone — the world’s largest asset manager with $472bn on its books — completed the first close of its eighth private equity in March, according to Bloomberg News. However, Blackstone has not yet set a limit on the investment pool, which it ultimately expects to eclipse the $24.56bn fund record set by fellow buyout behemoth Apollo Global Management in 2017, which has $249bn under management, reported Bloomberg.
Blackstone has been eyeing deals in the sector before. Back in 2015, Undercurrent revealed Blackstone made a bid for the Peruvian anchovy assets of China Fishery Group, along with industry players Parlevliet & Van der Plas (P&P) and Samherji.