Blackstone (NYSE: BX) today announced that Viral Patel has been appointed Global Head of Technology Investing for Blackstone Credit. Mr. Patel, who was previously an investment professional in the firm’s Tactical Opportunities Group, will be responsible for identifying investment opportunities across the technology sector and providing entrepreneurs, companies and financial sponsors with the diverse range of flexible solutions offered by Blackstone Credit. Blackstone Credit is the fastest growing segment of the firm driven by strong demand for private credit products from institutional, insurance and individual investors.

Commenting on the appointment, Dwight Scott, Global Head of Blackstone Credit said, “Viral is a world-class technology investor and will play a key leadership role on our team as we increasingly seek to support technology companies and their sponsors through private credit. We are at the leading edge of the market as we demonstrate the value of private credit, especially at scale.”

Viral Patel added: “I am excited to join Dwight and the entire Blackstone Credit team as we build on Blackstone’s strong firmwide relationships and track record in the fast-growing technology sector. I see significant opportunity to invest across the life-cycle of technology companies and look forward to growing our participation in this market.”

Mr. Patel has worked at Blackstone for nearly two decades and played a key role in the success of Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities (launched in 2012) and Growth (launched in 2019) investment groups. He has been involved in many of Blackstone’s technology investments ranging from early-stage companies such as Cloudreach, Cylance and Sema4 to late-stage businesses such as Blue Yonder, FireEye and Diligent. Mr. Patel graduated from Cornell University with a BS in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering.

About Blackstone

Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative asset manager. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our $731 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.

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