Financial Business Review: Berkshire Hathaway’s WINDFALL, China’s Blackstone STAKE

Here are Thursday’s top stories:

The Carlyle Group (NYSE:CG) and Australia’s Seven Group Holdings are mulling an initial public offering of the equipment rental company Coates Hire, say sources, in a move that could bring up to $722 million. Such an IPO is not likely before next year, but it would be the largest private equity-backed sale in Oz in the past 3 years.

Don’t Miss: American Express Stock: Buy, Sell, or Stay Away?

Newcastle Investment Corp. (NYSE:NCT) stocks fall subsequent to a secondary offering of 22 million shares. The company is not a traditional mortgage real estate investment trust, but is more in the mortgage servicing business, and will likely use the proceeds to acquire additional rights.

Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) is about to receive additional cash from a legal dispute with Kuwait, which Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE:DOW) Chief Executive Liveris believes will be used to redeem preferred stock, of which Berkshire owns $3 billion worth. Liveris adds that such a transaction could be immediately “very accretive”.

The government of China wants to own assets that are less volatile than stocks, and so The Blackstone Group’s (NYSE:BX) Real Estate Partners VII fund gets a rare commitment from that body of approximately $500 million, reports a source. Blackstone has raised $12 billion for the fund so far, and expects to close it at $13.3 billion in the near term.

Don’t Miss: Visa Earnings: CHARGES Beyond Wall Street Estimates.

Want news like this in real-time so you can get an edge? Click here for Wall St. Cheat Sheet Pro.