New York – Blackstone today announced that Dr. Hanns Ostmeier has joined the firm as a Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group and will serve as senior adviser and head of Blackstone’s office in Hamburg, Germany. He will be responsible for helping Blackstone on potential and existing private equity investments in German speaking and Northern European markets.

With Blackstone headquartered in New York and having a large office in London, this will be Blackstone’s first office outside of those two major financial centers. According to Stephen Schwarzman, CEO and President of The Blackstone Group, “With our increasing activities in Europe, this new office is a logical extension of our presence there and a mark of our confidence in the burgeoning opportunities both in Germany and throughout Continental Europe.” He added, “We are delighted to have someone of Hanns’ reputation and experience assisting us in this important market.”

Dr. Ostmeier said, “I believe there are great opportunities for private equity investment in all the German speaking and Northern European markets today. As one of the best in the business, Blackstone will make the most of the opportunities that arise. Blackstone’s signature method of working with major corporate partners in strictly friendly transactions is an approach that will be particularly attractive to European audiences.”

Prior to joining Blackstone, Dr. Ostmeier worked for seven years in the European private equity group, BC Partners, leaving there in December 2002 as a Managing Director of their German advisory office in Hamburg. He previously spent several years with Boston Consulting Group as manager of the Düsseldorf office.

He received an MBA from the University of Münster, and a graduate degree from Ohio State University. He was also a visiting post-graduate research fellow at the Marketing Science Institute, Cambridge, Mass., and received his doctorate at the University of Münster with distinction.

About The Blackstone Group

The Blackstone Group, a private investment bank with offices in New York, London and Hamburg, was founded in 1985. The firm has raised a total of approximately $25 billion for alternative asset investing since its formation. Over $14 billion of that has been for private equity investing, including Blackstone Capital Partners IV, the largest institutional private equity fund ever raised at $6.45 billion. In addition to Private Equity Investing, The Blackstone Group’s core businesses are Private Real Estate Investing, Corporate Debt Investing, Marketable Alternative Asset Management, Mergers and Acquisitions Advisory, and Restructuring and Reorganization Advisory.