Private Credit Giants Turn Debt Into Equity for Jumbo Deals

The Blackstone headquarters in New York

Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

When Blackstone Inc. announced it led a $7 billion investment in a liquefied natural gas export plant in Texas this week, a key piece of financial ingenuity was hiding in plain sight. While the firm is contributing equity into the deal, most of the money will come from its massive private credit funds.

Large private capital firms are in a race to deploy billions of dollars into large infrastructure projects as they seek to expand their business beyond traditional buyout financing. With private credit, companies can bypass the need for bank loans that required refinancing every five or so years and choose longer-term capital from a handful of sources.