Chris Hughes, Columnist

Blackstone Really Wants to Refuel Your Private Jet

The firm's mooted bid for Signature Aviation looks hard to beat, especially with Bill Gates onside.

January 8, 2021 at 1:01 PM UTC

Chris Hughes is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals. Previously, he worked for Reuters Breakingviews, the Financial Times and the Independent newspaper.

The lap of luxury.
Photographer: Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg

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A low-profile U.K. company serving the private jet business is suddenly making some very big friends.

Funds managed by Blackstone Group Inc. have teamed up with Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates in an attempted $4.3 billion bid for Signature Aviation Plc. It’s a formidable partnership that rival investment fund suitors Carlyle Group Inc. and Global Infrastructure Partners will have a tough job seeing off. But expect Nigel Rudd, Signature’s chairman and a veteran U.K. industrialist, to do his best to get an auction going.