Blackstone Group LP, the world's largest alternative asset manager, said on Thursday it had reduced its exposure to oil prices and was eyeing new opportunities in the energy sector as it reported a 6 percent decline in fourth-quarter profit.The profit decline was smaller than most analysts had expected, with some pointing to lower compensation expenses as the main reason Blackstone defied forecasts. Blackstone shares were flat in afternoon trading in New York at around $36.70.Blackstone President Tony James told a conference call with reporters the firm had sold most of its assets exposed to oil before crude prices started to fall. Blackstone now has more than $10 billion in equity and debt capital available for energy investment opportunities, he added."We believe the recent free fall in energy prices will prove to be relatively short term, so we view this as a good buying opportunity ... Our people are scrambling and trying to come up for air, we are very busy looking at specific deals," James said.
Blackstone Group LP (Blackstone) is an asset manager and provider of financial advisory services. Shares of BX fell by 0.41% or $-0.15/share to $36.59. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $26.56 and as high as $37.17. On average, 4174010 shares of BX exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 3907774.
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