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Blackstone Retires GSO Name, Marking End of an Era in Credit

Blackstone Retires GSO Name, Marking End of an Era in Credit

Blackstone Group Inc. has retired the GSO name, the end of a chapter for one of the credit world’s most famous outfits.

GSO Capital Partners will be rebranded as Blackstone Credit, the firm said Monday, a symbolic change that underscores the pace of change atop the $135 billion unit. The move follows the departure of previous heads of the business, who each started their own competing ventures away from the investing behemoth.

It’s the end of a partnership that reshaped business at Blackstone after it acquired GSO in 2008, and rode a roaring credit cycle that helped the unit turn into a spigot of profits for the alternative asset manager.

“This name change reflects what has already happened in our business,” Blackstone Credit’s global head Dwight Scott said in the statement. “Clients and issuers see us as part of Blackstone.”

Just last week, Bennett Goodman, the “G” in GSO, announced the formation of a new firm called Hunter Point Capital. His former partner Tripp Smith has been investing and fundraising off a bet on increased market dislocation at his own shop Iron Park Capital.

Doug Ostrover, the last of the founding trio, charted the most successful breakaway with Owl Rock Capital Partners, which has quickly established itself as one of the leading names in the world of private credit.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.