GSO Capital Partners, the credit division of Blackstone, has held a final closing of its second mezzanine fund, GSO Capital Opportunities Fund II, with total commitments of $4 billion. GSO will invest the fund across a range of sectors and geographies, with a particular focus on the U.S. and Europe.
Thus far, the new fund has invested or committed $780 million in four companies, including providing financing to Sony Corp. for its acquisition of EMI Group’s publishing unit and a preferred equity investment in a subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy created to help fund development of the Utica oil and natural gas field.
“We appreciate this extraordinary vote of confidence from our investors. We look forward to seeking opportunities to invest this capital in world-class companies while continuing our consistent track record for our limited partners and their constituents,” said Bennett Goodman, Senior Managing Director and Co-founder of GSO.
GSO Capital Partners is the global credit platform of Blackstone. GSO, together with its affiliates, has approximately $46 billion of assets under management making it one of the largest credit-oriented alternative managers in the world and a major participant in the leveraged finance marketplace. The firm is based in New York, NY (www.blackstone.com).
Blackstone is an investment and advisory firms with total fee-earning assets under management of over $90 billion. Blackstone’s alternative asset management businesses include the management of corporate private equity funds, real estate funds, hedge funds, funds of funds, debt funds, collateralized loan obligation vehicles and closed-end mutual funds. The Blackstone Group also provides various financial advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions advisory, restructuring and reorganization advisory and fund placement service. The firm is located in New York, NY (www.blackstone.com).