Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Blackstone Group LP, the world’s largest private-equity company, reported a third-quarter profit of $275.3 million, helped by fees from selling assets and finding acquisition targets.

Profit excluding some costs tied to the firm’s 2007 initial public offering was 25 cents a share, compared with a loss of $502.5 million, or 45 cents, a year earlier, according to a company statement today. New York-based Blackstone’s profit beat the average estimate of 14 cents by eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Blackstone posted its second straight profit as the private-equity industry emerges from a two-year slump triggered by the global credit crisis. Chief Executive Officer Stephen Schwarzman said last month the firm he founded more than two decades ago may seek to take as many as eight companies it owns public, a move that would help boost profit.

“Equity and debt markets have continued to heal,” Schwarzman said in the statement today. “We believe the worst is behind us though a recovery could be gradual and uneven.”

Blackstone rose 82 cents, or 5.9 percent, to $14.69 at 11:09 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have more than doubled this year as optimism about deal- making improves and global equity indexes rebound.

“The alternative managers are in an improved position to generate performance fees,” Barclays Capital analyst Roger Freeman wrote in a note to clients on Nov. 3.

IPO Price

The shares are worth less than half of the initial public offering price of $31 a share in June 2007. Private-equity deal- making evaporated in mid-2007 after buyout groups bought a record $1.4 trillion of companies in 2006 and 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Blackstone’s net loss under generally accepted accounting principles was $176.2 million for the third quarter, compared with a loss of $340.3 million a year earlier.

Blackstone, created in 1985 by Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson, last month agreed to buy the theme parks business of Anheuser-Busch InBev NV for as much as $2.7 billion, the largest private-equity deal announced this year at the time.

Competitor TPG topped that figure yesterday with its agreement to buy IMS Health Inc., a provider of prescription data to drugmakers and analysts, for $5.2 billion.

Blackstone agreed yesterday to buy stakes in two retail centers through a new joint venture with Glimcher Realty Trust, netting about $60 million for Glimcher.

Shopping Centers

Glimcher, the Columbus, Ohio-based shopping-mall owner whose shares have dropped 44 percent in the past year, agreed to sell a portion of its Lloyd Center in Portland, Oregon, and the WestShore Plaza in Tampa, Florida. The joint venture will also assume $218 million in mortgage debt.

So-called limited partners -- the pension funds, endowments and wealthy families that give money to private-equity firms to invest -- are growing more confident, Blackstone President Tony James said on a conference call today with reporters.

“LPs who were concerned about new investments are now urging us to put money to work,” James said, noting that interest in new funds also is growing. “The fundraising world is definitely loosening up.”

Blackstone’s funds include a $21.7 billion buyout pool, the industry’s largest. The firm also manages funds of hedge funds and advises corporate clients on mergers and restructuring.

Revenue in Blackstone’s private-equity business rose to $226.9 million from $198.6 million a year earlier. The fair value of the private-equity holdings rose 5 percent in the quarter, compared with an 8 percent decline a year earlier.

James said he expects to be able to keep taking companies public through the early part of 2010. The transactions in process will generate about $2.8 billion for limited partners, he said.

“The picture is one of increasing activity on the new deal front and realizations,” James said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Kelly in New York at jkelly14@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 6, 2009 11:11 EST