Blackstone Is Spinning Off Its Advisory Business

The giant investment management firm announced today that it will spin off its financial and strategic advisory businesses. The spun-off parts of the business will merge with the independent advisory firm PJT Partners, headed by Paul Taubman, in a transaction that's expected to close sometime in 2015.

Blackstone shareholders will own roughly 65% of the new company and Taubman and his partners will get about 35%. Taubman will become the chairman and CEO of the new entity.

The split appears to come out of worries over conflicts of interest between Blackstone's advisory and investing businesses.

In a statement, Blackstone's CEO Stephen Schwarzman mentioned worries about Blackstone's size. "As the largest alternative asset manager in the world, and with our investing areas considerably broader and larger than even a few years ago, we have not been free to aggressively grow our advisory businesses further out of concern for potential conflicts," he said.