NYSE Euronext June volume rises

(Reuters) - NYSE Group exchanges, which include the New York Stock
Exchange and electronic trading platform NYSE Arca, reported
2.9 billion shares handled per day, up 9 percent year to date.




Trading volume reached an all-time high on June 22, the day
of the Blackstone Group IPO, with nearly 5.2 billion
shares traded, NYSE Euronext said in a statement.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Wall St seen opening higher on M&A, data eyed

(Reuters) - Shares of Hilton Hotels Corp. will be in the spotlight after U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group on Tuesday agreed to buy the company for about $20 billion plus debt -- the richest in a series of private equity offers for hotel companies.




The U.S. stock market was closed for the Independence Day holiday on Wednesday. Stocks rose in a shortened session on Tuesday, boosted by takeover news.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Aspen says Blackstone, DLJ Merchant to sell stake in co.

(Reuters) - Blackstone Group will sell about 5.7 million shares, while DLJ Merchant will sell about 2.2 million shares, the insurer said in a statement.






Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Rise; Blackstone, GM Gains as Bear Stearns Falls

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures rose
before a private report that may show home resales fell
last month, giving more room to the Federal Reserve to cut
interest rates.

Blackstone Group LP, the private-equity firm valued at
$38 billion after its initial public offering June 22,
gained in Europe. General Motors Corp. advanced as people
with knowledge of matter said the United Auto Workers union
will end its bid to keep wages at its biggest supplier,
Delphi Corp., at GM levels.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

WRAPUP 1-U.S. lawmakers scrutinize Blackstone tax bill, IPO

(Reuters) - WASHINGTON, June 20 - A co-author of a U.S.
Senate bill that would raise taxes on private equity firms
going public said on Wednesday he was open to discussing
shortening a built-in transition period that cushions any
potential tax hit on Blackstone Group LP [BG.UL].




Sen. Max Baucus has received feedback about his legislation
suggesting a five-year transition period is too long and should
be shortened, his office said late on Wednesday.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Bear Stearns manager warned of collapse in February

(Reuters) - Now Blackstone Group, the private equity giant, is
presenting a plan to rescue Cioffi's Bear Stearns Cos.
hedge fund that is on the brink of collapse, and Bear Stearns
is infusing $1.5 billion of its own capital to save the fund,
according to people familiar with the situation on Tuesday.




The fund already has sold off $4 billion in mortgage-backed
securities to raise money that could pay redemptions and margin
calls after the Bear Stearns High-Grade Structured Credit
Strategies fund won a reprieve from creditors on Monday,
gaining one more day to present a rescue plan.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Blackstone Seeks to Raise $7.75 Billion Selling Stock to Public, China

(Bloomberg) -- Blackstone Group LP, manager of the
world's second-largest buyout fund, plans to raise as much as $7.75
billion selling stock to the public and the Chinese government.

The firm is offering as many as 155.3 million shares for
$29 to $31 each to raise $4.75 billion, New York-based
Blackstone said in a Securities & Exchange Commission filing
today. The firm also agreed to sell a $3 billion stake to the
Chinese government.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News