Blackstone deployed $134 billion in 2024, an 81% annual increase, while its AUM reached $1.13 trillion by Q4’s end.
The rise in deployment comes amid a broader market increase in deal activity, according to PitchBook’s 2024 Annual Global M&A Report.
“The combination of a healthy US economy, historically tightening spreads, greater debt availability, the prospects of a more business-friendly regulatory climate and, importantly, accelerating technological innovations have given us the confidence to deploy capital at scale,” said Blackstone president and COO Jon Gray during the earnings call.
The firm’s strong deployment was driven by deals such as its majority-stake acquisition of Jersey Mike’s Subs in November, which valued the sandwich franchisor at $8 billion, including debt.
In September, Blackstone joined forces with Vista Equity to take project management software provider Smartsheet private for $8.4 billion.
Meanwhile, Blackstone’s private wealth business reported strong inflows, taking in $28 billion in 2024.
Its Blackstone Private Equity Strategies Fund reached $8.5 billion in assets after the vehicle opened itself to non-US participants, assisting the firm’s wider effort to engage individual investors.
“The U.S. is continuing on a path of disinflation, albeit at a more moderate pace than before,” Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman told analysts. “I believe the direction of travel fundamentally is toward policies that are pro-growth and pro-deregulation, which ultimately can be quite positive for our business.”
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