The Blackstone Group has launched a single-manager distressed debt fund. The fund, which is looking to raise $500 million, is the first rolled out by the new distressed debt group, Blackstone Distressed Debt Advisors, said an official at the firm. The group was started at the end of last year and is headed by John Dionne, senior managing director and cio.
The firm hired Jeremiah Keefe and Il Lee as principals of the distressed debt group at the end of March. Keefe was the director of European distressed research for Deutsche Bank and helped manage the bank's proprietary positions. Lee was a v.p. with hedge fund Harbert Management Corp.
Tom Hill, senior managing director, declined comment. Blackstone manages roughly $34 billion in hedge funds, private equity and real estate. Blackstone Alternative Asset Management, the fund of funds division, currently manages about $9.3 billion.