It’s take two for the Blackstone Group. The private equity firm hopes to capitalize on the rebounding commercial mortgage-backed securities market with the largest deal of its kind since the downturn.
In preparing to take its Hilton Hotels Group public, the firm plans to sell about $3.5 billion in CMBS backed by loans on the hotels. The deal, while smaller than the $8.4 billion Hilton offering that Blackstone attempted in 2008, will test the strength of the debt market. This is expected to help refinance all of Hilton’s $13.5 billion in debt.
Blackstone, which announced the initial public offering last month, was previously unable to achieve the record CMBS issue tied to its buyout of Hilton in 2007. [WSJ] — Mark Maurer