Blackstone Nearly Doubles Earnings to $1.4B

Blackstone reported third-quarter earnings of $1.4 billion Thursday, almost twice the $794.7 million figure in the same period last year.

Its assets under management reached $730.7 billion by the end of the quarter.

The firm has made a number of significant moves across sports-related industries this year.

• On Wednesday, it purchased a majority stake in Spanx at a $1.2 billion valuation.
• Last month, it entered an agreement to sell the Las Vegas Cosmopolitan casino and hotel as part of a $5.65 billion deal, making it Blackstone’s most profitable real estate deal ever. 
• In July, Blackstone bought a majority stake in Certified Collectibles Group at a valuation of more than $500 million.
• In April, it took part in an $80 million funding round for Overtime.

At $156 billion, Blackstone now has a higher market capitalization than Goldman Sachs and IBM.

Its stock has increased more than 100% since the beginning of the year.