Alternative investment giant Blackstone Group has hired Gilles Dellaert, former co-president and chief investment officer of insurance company Global Atlantic, to lead its $60 billion insurance business.
Dellaert joins on April 1, the private-asset giant announced Tuesday. Blackstone Insurance Solutions emerged in 2018 to manage assets for insurance companies. At Global Atlantic, Dellaert was responsible for investment and reinsurance activity across the firm’s life and annuity businesses and also served as chairman of its investment committee. He previously worked at Goldman Sachs, on credit trading and reinsurance. Before that, he spent two years at JPMorgan.
The BIS platform will operate under David Blitzer, who heads up the firm’s tactical opportunities business. Blackstone’s insurance products are customized for each client, the firm said in a press release announcing the hire.
“We are excited to welcome Gilles to Blackstone as we continue to grow our insurance business and serve more clients around the world,” said Tony James, executive vice chairman of the $554 billion asset manager, in the release.
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Separately, the Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust announced a definitive agreement with MGM Growth Properties to form a new joint venture that will acquire the Las Vegas assets of the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay casinos for $4.6 billion. The Blackstone real estate income trust, which also recently acquired the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas for $4.25 billion, will also buy $150 million in MGM Growth Properties Class A shares.
MGM Resorts will manage and run the properties day-to-day, while the JV will own them and collect rent payments. The MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay properties collectively account for some 300,000 square feet of casino space across 226 acres of the Las Vegas strip, Blackstone said in its announcement of the deal.
Blackstone President and COO Jon Gray said the transaction “reflects our continuing strong conviction in Las Vegas.”
