Blackstone vs. KKR: Primedia Bid

Is personal animosity standing in the way of Blackstone’s bid for the enthusiast magazine titles Primedia has put on the auction block? That’s what the New York Post’s Keith Kelly claimed in his column yesterday.

Although Blackstone is said to have put in a bid for some or all of the titles—which include Surfing, Motor Trend and similar niche magazines—in the first round of the auction, it may have backed out of bidding in the second round, Kelly reports.

One reason is that Schwarzman and Primedia's chief shareholder, Henry Kravis are bitter rivals on many high-stakes deals.

The deal for the Primedia Magazine Group is expected to fetch over $1 billion.

One source close to the situation said there is "no way" Schwarzman would want to fork over that kind of money to Kravis.

Is it plausible that Steve Schwarzman has personally quashed the Primedia bidding just to avoid giving money to Henry Kravis. We're rating this story a "sell" because it doesn't quite make sense. Why would personal rivalry stand in the way of a second round bid but not the initial bid?

Fat chance [New York Post, second item]