Among the more successful debt restructuring advisory units in recent years has been the one fielded by Blackstone, the US-based private equity house. It remains a leader in its segment, except that it is now part of PJT Partners. In a calling-card transaction, PJT’s Europe, the Middle East and Africa restructuring team advised bond holders in Ukraine’s recent debt restructuring, deploying what could become a new fund raising instrument.
PJT Partners encompasses three former Blackstone advisory activities: specialising in restructuring, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and fund raising. Constrained by conflicts of interest with the asset management business, they were spun out in October 2015 via a merger with PJT Partners, the vehicle of one-time Morgan Stanley M&A boss Paul Taubman. At the same time, the firm was listed on the New York Stock Exchange, with Blackstone shareholders getting one share in the new business for every 40 existing shares they owned. The company now has a market value of about $1bn, and its largest shareholder is Blackstone chairman and CEO Steve Schwarzman.
