- "We're in the middle of an epic credit bubble ... the likes of which I haven't seen in my career," Blackstone (BX -0.1%) global head of P-E Joe Baratta told the Dow Jones Private Equity Conference last night. Those are tall words coming from Blackstone, which sold itself to the public at the peak of another fair-sized credit boom in 2007.
- "Valuations we have to pay relative to the growth prospects are out of whack right now," he adds, and the biggest risk for P-E is multiples getting depressed when they're looking to exit investments.
- His comments stand in contrast to the bullish tone of Blackstone President Tony James earlier this week.
- Speaking at the same conference, KKR co-head of Americas P-E Alexander Navab says now's a good time to be investing in U.S. P-E. He's even more positive about Brazil where valuations are cheaper. "A lot of people who talked about going to Brazil didn't show up."