Tom Kelly Joins Blackstone

April 27, 2009

April 27, 2009

New York – The Blackstone Group (NYSE:BX) today announced that Tom Kelly has joined the firm as a Managing Director in its Corporate Advisory Group to head a new initiative to provide private capital fundraising services to a broad variety of businesses and corporations. These fundraisings will include private placements of equity and debt for privately-held and publicly-traded corporate clients. Mr. Kelly will be based in Blackstone’s Menlo Park office.


“We believe that this is a very opportune time to enter this business,” said Ivan Brockman, a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone and Head of the firm’s West Coast Advisory Business, “Current markets are dislocated, or even shut, for conventional public financings. Clients are looking to their advisers to help them raise capital in innovative and non traditional ways. We expect that this will be both an area of growth and opportunity for Blackstone.”


“I am delighted to be joining the exceptional team of professionals at Blackstone,” added Mr. Kelly. “Its independence, reputation and global capabilities uniquely position it to assist corporate clients in accessing the private capital markets.”


Mr. Kelly was previously a Managing Director at KEMA Partners, which provides investment banking and advisory services to emerging growth companies. Before that, he headed the Private Capital Group at Montgomery & Co and prior to that, he headed West Coast Private Equity Placements for Banc of America Securities in San Francisco. He was previously an investment banker focused on private equity placements with Merrill Lynch and Robertson Stephens. Mr. Kelly has an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree with 1st Class Honors from Bradford University in the United Kingdom.


About The Blackstone Group


Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment and advisory firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, the companies we advise and the broader global economy. We do this through the commitment of our extraordinary people and flexible capital. Our alternative asset management businesses include the management of corporate private equity funds, real estate funds, funds of hedge funds, credit-oriented funds, collateralized loan obligation vehicles (CLOs) 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 services. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com.


Contact: Blackstone Public Affairs
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