Blackstone buys stake in Rockpoint

From left: Jonathan Gray and Rockpoint's Bill Walton
From left: Jonathan Gray and Rockpoint's Bill Walton

An investment fund controlled by Blackstone Group bought a passive, minority stake in Rockpoint Group, the company announced Tuesday.

Terms of the deal weren’t publicized. The vehicle that made the investment, Blackstone’s Strategic Capital Holdings Fund, falls under the private equity firm’s hedge fund business.

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The Boston-based real estate investment firm Rockpoint quietly emerged as one of New York’s most active real estate investors over the past few years.  In recent months, the fund manager agreed to buy the Starrett City complex in Brooklyn with Brooksville Company for $905 million and closed on the $465 million purchase of 1700 Broadway.

In a statement, Blackstone’s newly appointed president Jonathan Gray pointed out that his firm has already worked on several real estate deals with Rockpoint. Scott Soussa, who heads Blackstone’s Strategic Capital Group, called Rockpoint a new “strategic partner.”

Chinese sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation (CIC) also just sold its 9.9 percent stake in Blackstone, the Financial Times reported. CIC had paid $3 billion for its stake in 2007.