Blackstone nearly doubles London workforce after wooing dealmakers

Blackstone has nearly doubled its London workforce during the pandemic, according to its chief operating officer, as it eyes the capital as the jewel of Europe.

Betting on Europe to keep pumping out sparkly investment opportunities, the now 500-strong team has been built by wooing dealmakers from investment banking rivals.

“We are at an inflection point of tremendous growth in the business,” Farhad Karim told Bloomberg, adding that the investment giant is also looking to expand in Paris and Frankfurt.

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“Obviously, a lot of that talent we are looking for is coming from the investment banking world,” Karim added. “It’s not just a pay differential that is attracting bankers to the firm though. Pay is important but it’s a combination of factors.”

Blackstone doubled down on its support for its European logistics company Mileway with a €21bn (£17.6bn) reinvestment just weeks ago.

Across the continent, Blackstone oversaw takeovers valued at $22bn, making it the second biggest private equity spender in Europe behind EQT AB, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

As war breaks out in the region between Russia and Ukraine, Blackstone’s COO said that the investment heavyweight would not likely be impacted.

“We are not yet seeing activity slow down because of the war in Ukraine,” said Karim. “If activity levels remain where they are, private equity M&A could end the year higher than in 2021.”

Source: City A.M.

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