British King Charles III and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meet with Blackstone CEO Stephen A. Schwarzman during a reception at Buckingham Palace on November 27, 2023 in London, England. Daniel Leal – WPA Pool/Getty Images
Blackstone’s Steve Schwarzman said the firm is eyeing a range of real estate purchase opportunities across Europe as central banks become less aggressive in raising interest rates and transaction volumes begin to recover.
Schwarzman said in an interview on Bloomberg TV on the sidelines of the UK’s Global Investment Summit in London that the private equity giant likes the data center, warehouse and student housing deals it’s seeing across Europe. Stated.
“The trading business is not completely on pause, and these things will start again,” Schwartzman, Blackstone’s chairman and chief executive, said in an interview. “His year has been a little depressing, but I think we’re more on that side of the cycle.”
Earlier this month, Blackstone partnered with investors including Permira to acquire Adevinta ASA, in one of the year’s biggest acquisitions, valuing the European online advertising company at about 14 billion euros ($15 billion), including debt. I made it one.
As the coronavirus-era chaos gave way to soaring inflation, central banks around the world gradually raised interest rates. This weighs on trading volumes and is bad news for private equity investors, known as limited partners.
He said the “biggest concern” LPs have is that capital flows won’t come back because assets aren’t sold, adding: “This kind of cycle always ends and things get back to normal.” Ta.
The investment summit will include prominent executives and bankers, including JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon. The government earlier announced it would announce 29.5 billion pounds ($37.2 billion) of new investment for the summit, of which at least 10 billion pounds had already been announced.
The conference comes at a time when Britain is trying to reinvigorate investment in its lackluster economy. Many businesses are frustrated by the lack of support and the message that the government has canceled some long-planned high-speed rail lines.
Earlier, Mr Schwartzman took part in a panel discussion with UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak, stressing the importance of companies quickly adopting artificial intelligence technology. He also said that this month’s talks between China and the US should help improve relations between the two countries.
In a wide-ranging conversation, he also pointed out that slowing inflation would encourage investment, but did not necessarily discourage the UK from adopting President Joe Biden’s major inflation control laws because they could cause inflation. He also pointed out that he was not recommending it.
Schwarzman said the UK remained an attractive investment destination because of its legal system, universities and life sciences expertise. He said Blackstone’s new London headquarters reflected his confidence in the UK.
“I have a simple rule: I only invest in places I would want to visit at least twice,” Schwartzman said.