Blackstone targets India, Japan as top Asian markets for 2024
Blackstone, the world's leading alternative asset manager, has pinpointed India and Japan as its most active Asian markets for deals in 2024. Joe Baratta, the firm's global head of private equity, expressing his optimism for India, said, "India has the highest growth; it also has the most ebullient stock market." He also believes that Japan's economy seems to be "decoupled from what's going on in the rest of the world."
Blackstone recently acquired stakes in two hospital chains in India
Blackstone has been active in India, where it recently acquired a stake in two hospital chains. Last month, Blackstone announced a 12% decrease in its quarterly profits allocated to shareholders. Despite this decline, Baratta noted that the firm's private equity pipeline is currently more robust than it has been since Blackstone scaled back its dealmaking activities in mid-2021, primarily due to rising concerns about inflation. The firm finished raising an $11 billion Asia buyout fund in January 2022.
Open to deals in IT, healthcare, and consumer goods
However, Blackstone has been less active in private equity deals in Japan over the past two years, despite foreign investors showing interest in the country. Blackstone is now open to conducting deals in Japan ranging between $300 million to $2 billion, particularly in IT, healthcare, and consumer goods. The company also has transactions in the consumer and industrial sectors. During a Tokyo visit, Baratta met with Blackstone's private equity executives across Asia to discuss strategy and engage with global investors.
