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Blackstone cashes in on Versace’s $2.1B sale to Michael Kors

From real estate to retail to financial services, Blackstone’s mammoth portfolio of businesses and buildings reaches into about every industry imaginable. But the New York-based buyout firm ventured beyond its extensive comfort zone in 2014, when it paid €210 million (about $287 million at the time) for a 20% stake in luxury fashion brand Versace, valuing the Italian company at €1 billion.

Four-and-a-half years later, the firm founded by Stephen Schwarzman is poised for a nice return on that investment. On Tuesday, fashion brand Michael Kors agreed to purchase Versace for an enterprise value of €1.83 billion, or $2.12 billion, with Blackstone exiting its entire investment as part of the transaction. That price would seem to value Blackstone’s 20% stake at some $424 million.

Stock in Michael Kors (NYSE: KORS) dropped more than 8% Monday, when reports of a deal first emerged, before inching back up 2% on Tuesday. As part of its takeover, the company announced plans to open roughly 100 new Versace stores, increase the brand’s online offerings and expand its reliance on accessories and footwear, all in an effort to grow Versace’s annual revenue from $850 million to upward of $2 billion. Michael Kors, which will be renamed Capri Holdings upon the closing of the transaction, also hopes to shift a portion of Versace’s portfolio away from North and South America and into Asia.

It’s been a good year for Blackstone when it comes to high-profile exits. In June, the firm agreed to sell 15.8 million shares of hotel chain Hilton Worldwide for some $1.3 billion, per Bloomberg. Overall, it’s believed the firm realized about $14 billion in profit from its initial 2007 investment in Hilton, marking what’s reportedly the most profitable exit in private equity history.

That news came a month after the buyout divisions of Blackstone and Goldman Sachs agreed to sell Ipreo, a provider of financial analytics focused on the stock market, to data firm IHS Markit for $1.86 billion. Ipreo’s valuation nearly doubled from when the two firms bought the company for some $975 million in 2014.

 

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Is Genstar Capital The Next Private Equity Powerhouse?

Predicting the future is a difficult thing, as private equity investors know all too well. But if the recent past is any indication, Genstar Capital could be on the verge of assuming a starring role on the industry’s stage.

First, there’s the fundraising. Genstar closed its latest flagship buyout fund on $3.95 billion last year, which represented a nearly 100% increase from its previous effort, a $2.1 billion pool from 2015. That vehicle was in turn more than 100% larger than its predecessor. If Genstar keeps doubling the size of its funds—which is admittedly a tall proposition—it won’t be long before those vehicles are among the largest in private equity.

And then there are the deals. Genstar completed 24 investments during 1Q, according to PitchBook data, more than any other PE firm in the US. That continues a recent flurry of activity: Genstar has executed nearly 150 transactions since the start of 2016, more than in the previous nine years combined:

What kinds of deals are driving this rapid rise? Who are the firm’s key decision-makers? And where did Genstar come from?

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Saudi wealth fund weighing $1B investment in Tesla rival

After an especially tumultuous couple of weeks for Tesla, Elon Musk’s potential buyout partner is apparently looking to obtain a majority stake in another electric car company.

The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia is considering an investment in Lucid Motors, a Newark, CA-based electric car maker, that could total more than $1 billion and give the fund ownership of the company, according to Reuters.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund, which manages some $250 billion, would reportedly provide an initial investment of $500 million, then make two subsequent investments if Lucid hits certain production targets.

Founded in 2007 by former Oracle executive Sam Weng and former Tesla vice president Bernard Tse, Lucid is backed by VCs including Venrock and Tsing Capital. Unlike Tesla, the company has yet to release any cars on the open markets. But last year, Lucid unveiled a prototype sedan, Lucid Air, which has 400 horsepower and a starting price of $60,000. The car is expected to ship sometime in 2019.

The potential Saudi Arabia PIF-Lucid partnership could be problematic for Musk, who already appears stressed. Last week, the billionaire entrepreneur gave an interview with The New York Times in which he alternated between laughing and crying while detailing the pressures of running Tesla.

The latest controversy came when Musk himself tweeted earlier this month that he planned to take the business private for $420 per share, or about $72 billion, noting that funding was secured.

Musk later clarified in a blog post that the Saudi Arabia wealth fund, which owns a 5% stake in Tesla, was the potential backer, though no formal agreement had been made. The company is now reportedly facing a subpoena from the SEC and lawsuits from investors that allege Musk’s tweet aimed to inflate the company’s stock price. Tesla stock initially dipped Monday before closing the afternoon up just about 1% at $308.44 per share.

 

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