Blackstone getting bullish?

News that The Blackstone Group may plan to list up to eight of its portfolio companies in the near future is seen by some commentators as 'bullish'. We would rather think that the seller must have a cautious view of the upside potential for share prices, - why else would Blackstone want to sell now? Apart from the question of why anyone would want to purchase recycled merchandise from a well-informed insider this announcement of a wholesale clear-out of the portfolio brings the question of the purpose of the 'private' equity 'industry' to the forefront. We would argue that the business in its present form is neither 'private' (nearly all its money is coming from Joe Public) nor an 'industry'. If anything, it is a clever scheme to make a small number of people (very) rich at the expense of the wider investing public that has the privilege to repurchase businesses that were previously sold too cheaply by the fiduciaries handling their investments. Recent studies have also put in question the rationale for investing in IPO's, and the old saying 'Buyer Beware' should be remembered.