The morning after: not always so pretty, is it?
Neither is the morning after the morning after (weekends don’t count in trading land), especially if you’re Stephen Schwarzman. After closing at $35.06 on Friday, Blackstone’s shares fell 7.5% to $32.44. This translated to a loss of about $655 million for The Schwarz, and (we're assuming) no crab leg salads for a week.
When we started to write this post, BX had fallen to $31.15. It took us a while to find where the edited Crab Hands graphic was on the computer, and by the time it was located, they were down to $30.60. And not that we’re into kicking people when they’re down, but it should also be noted that Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns are all up (since yesterday’s close, trending with the market), so BX has no one to blame but itself.
Steve's $655M Bad Day [New York Post]
Blackstone gives up debut gains [Financial Times]
Posted by Andree , Jun 26, 2007 10:26AM
It couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
Posted by Zbignew , Jun 26, 2007 10:38AM
If you're not into kicking people when they're down, then why do we come here?
Posted by , Jun 26, 2007 10:44AM
sounds like she was JKing, zbignew
Posted by joe , Jun 26, 2007 11:16AM
the funny thing about IPOs is that "hot" performers - i.e. those that soar - represent money left on the table by the sellers. In this case, it appears that Schwarzman & Co. didn't underprice their shares, thus the lack of sustainable pop. That benefits Pete Peterson because he was the largest seller in the IPO, and hurts Schwarzman because he holds the most stock.
Posted by Drano , Jun 26, 2007 11:17AM
I've had my fill of this situation, time to look at Benihana.
Posted by Bulging Bracket , Jun 26, 2007 2:37PM
First day pop was always the biggest scam by the I-bankers. Never understood why the VCs went along with it.
Everyone's goal should be to have your IPO be down in the first six months. Leaving money on the table is never smart.
Posted by Drano , Jun 26, 2007 6:07PM
I can only guess that the VC's went along with it because without the hoopla all those pops generated, most of that shit never could have been sold at all. It was a weird time.