Astaris' $150 million Blackstone investment

Two sources say Blackstone Group LP will put $150 million into London-based Astaris Capital Management; the money will be split between the company's current hedge fund and a new pool of capital with a drawdown structure.

Astaris was started in 2020 by Martin Beck, who had previously worked at private investment companies Centerbridge Partners and JPMorgan. Astaris focuses on making credit and equity investments in Europe based on events.

He also helped start the hedge fund Sothic Capital, which invested in European assets that were in bad shape.

According to data from EuroHedge, Astaris invests in "event-driven" investments like company reorganisations, bankruptcies, and mergers and acquisitions. It has more than $300 million in assets and has made an average gain of 17% a year since it began. How the company invests depends on any particular part of the business cycle.

Sources who know about the investment but can't talk about it say that Blackstone will put $75 million into the current hedge fund and the new fund; this shows that Blackstone is very committed to Astaris.

A Blackstone team member didn't want to say anything, and Astaris didn't answer when asked to say something.

They said Blackstone's hedge fund business, Blackstone Alternative Asset Management, invests $81 billion. The money for this investment comes from its Strategic Alliance Fund IV, which has more than $1 billion in assets.

This Strategic Alliance Fund makes "seed investments" in still-young businesses. Astaris is the first manager whom Fund IV is giving money.

The "seeding" is happening because investors are betting that new investment managers can do well in the hedge fund business, which hasn't been very good at making money for years but is becoming more popular now because of worries about high-interest rates and growth.

When new managers get seed investments from Blackstone, it often helps them build a reputation that makes it easier for other investors to make promises. It also lets Blackstone get in on the ground floor of potential new companies.