Blackstone fund on hold

The Blackstone Group, a US private equity firm, has delayed a first closing of its latest global buyout fund as its current fund is taking longer to deploy.

The Wall Street Journal said that the collapse of both planned and ongoing deals, including the potential failure of its US$7.8bn acquisition of Alliance Data Systems, along with a shift towards more mid-market deals and minority stakes has left its current fund, which closed with more than US$22bn of capital last year, with at least US$5.7bn to invest.