Blackstone opens German office

Blackstone Group is opening its first continental European office in Hamburg, Germany. Hanns Ostmeier joins the firm as managing director and will serve as senior adviser and head of the Hamburg office. Blackstone is headquartered in New York and also has an office in London. Prior to joining Blackstone, Ostmeier worked for seven years in the European private equity group BC Partners and prior to that was at Boston Consulting group as manager of the Düsseldorf office.

While many private equity players have had their doubts about the German market with several such as Alchemy Partners, Duke Street Capital and L&G Ventures, closing down offices earlier this year, Blackstone is confident about deal flow in the region. CEO and president Stephen Schwarzman said: “With our increasing activities in Europe, this new office is a logical extension of our presence there and a mark of our confidence in the burgeoning opportunities both in Germany and throughout continental Europe.