Private equity manager Blackstone breaks into mutual fund business with First Eagle buy

Blackstone Group LP and Corsair Capital agreed to buy a majority stake in First Eagle Investment Management, valuing the firm at $4 billion including debt. The investment in First Eagle, which manages $100 billion in assets, will be made by funds managed by Blackstone and Corsair, according to a statement Monday. First Eagle manages equity, fixed income and multi-asset strategies. (See where First Eagle lands on the Top 10 most trusted mutual fund companies ranking.) The New York-based firm, which traces its history to 1864, will continue operating independently. First Eagle, which in 1939 was named Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder, became a registered investment adviser in 1995 and in 2002 sold its investment banking business to focus on money management. It's led by Chairman John Arnhold, whose family is a minority owner, and chief executive Bridget Macaskill. Blackstone is the latest large private equity firm to invest in a money manager after Carlyle Group LP in 2013 acquired TCW Group from Societe Generale SA. Corsair last year bought a stake in asset manager Personal Capital Corp. and previously backed MPC Capital. The transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter. Private equity firm TA Associates Management is selling its stake as part of the deal. “During this time of unprecedented market turbulence, we have been impressed with First Eagle's prudent stewardship of its clients' assets,” TA Associates' P. Andrews McLane said in the statement.