Blackstone Launches Impact Investing Platform

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Blackstone (NYSE:BX) today announced the launch of a new impact
investing platform that will be part of the firm’s Strategic Partners
group. The platform will seek to deliver positive financial impact while
addressing four specific investment themes— Health & Wellbeing,
Financial Access, Sustainable Communities and Green Technologies.

Tanya Barnes, former Managing Director in Goldman Sachs’ Merchant
Banking Division, has joined Blackstone as a Managing Director to lead
this initiative. The platform will make investments in mission-oriented
businesses and managers, unlocking new opportunities for investors.

It will leverage Strategic Partners’ scale and expertise across private
equity, real estate and infrastructure by partnering with external
impact managers focused on developed markets, as well as other investing
businesses within Blackstone. The initiative will build on Blackstone’s
previous investments in impact themes, and on Strategic Partners’ vast
sourcing capabilities and partnerships with investment managers.

Jon Gray, Blackstone President & COO, said: “As a firm, we seek to
deliver value for our investors while also having a positive impact on
the communities in which we operate. The impact platform is an exciting
growth area and a natural extension of our business. We look forward to
meeting the growing demand for impact investments.”

Verdun Perry, Global Head of Strategic Partners, said: “We are thrilled
to welcome Tanya Barnes to our team and to announce the launch of this
initiative. Our impact platform has a powerful value proposition and
significant growth potential. We believe it will greatly expand our
ability to generate positive, measurable social and environmental
impact, while making the companies we invest in more valuable.”

Tanya Barnes added: “I am excited to join Blackstone and the Strategic
Partners business. I look forward to leveraging the firm’s expertise and
scale to expand the role of private capital to create solutions that
address the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges.”

In her previous role, Ms. Barnes focused on private equity investments
and helped build and run a co-investment business. She was responsible
for all stages of investing, including developing thematic investment
targets in financial services and consumer retail companies. Ms. Barnes
also ran her own firm where she was an active advisor, investor and
board member to investment firms and operating businesses.

About Strategic Partners

Strategic Partners is a market leader in private fund investing. Since
2000, Strategic Partners has raised $42 billion dedicated to private
equity, real estate and infrastructure secondary and fund investing.
Strategic Partners is recognized as an innovative and market-leading
investor, with broad transaction capabilities that reinforce its
established reputation as a nimble and responsive investor. Strategic
Partners has executed over 1,275 transactions that represent interests
in over 3,500 underlying fund interests managed by nearly 1,300
different financial sponsors.

About Blackstone

Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. We seek to
create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors,
the companies in which we invest, and the communities in which we work.
We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help
companies solve problems. Our asset management businesses, with $512
billion in assets under management, include investment vehicles focused
on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, non-investment
grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis.
Further information is available at www.blackstone.com.
Follow Blackstone on twitter @Blackstone.

Contacts

Jennifer Friedman
Jennifer.Friedman@Blackstone.com
+1
(212) 583-5122