Blackstone Group LP may be on a buying binge, at the right time. While the financial crisis has ravaged many of the large institutions, many of them have been forced to sell of assets in an effort to raise capital and turn their focus to their core business.
The latest benefactor of this action may be Blackstone, which many have speculated will be the high bidder tomorrow for Citigroup Inc.’s (NYSE: C) Internet unit Egg Banking Plc. Citigroup bought Egg in 2007 for $1.13 billion from Prudential Plc., and has been primarily selling alternative investments. Blackstone wants to buy Egg from Citigroup and credit card company SAV Credit from Palamon Capital Partners.
Blackstone has to date navigated the financial crisis impressively, and is deploying capital in a way that will shape the firm for years to come. The future of the financial services industry remains unclear, as regulators continue to digest and interpret the changes coming from the Dodd Frank financial regulatory reform and stock prices continue to struggle. When the rubble clears there is one thing for sure: the industry will look very different than it does today.
