Various reports put Blackstone's IPO at 10% of the company'sfull worth, or roughly $4 billion. A spokesperson for Blackstonedeclined to comment on the amount.

Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and Citigroup Global Markets Inc.are the global coordinators and underwriters of the transaction.Additionally, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.,Credit Suisse Securities LLC, Lehman Brothers Inc. and DeutscheBank Securities Inc. will be the joint book-running managers.

It's ironic that Blackstone has been involved in a number ofpublic-to-private mergers in the recent past. The firm took theChicago-based EquityOffice Properties Trust private at the beginning ofFebruary. The $39 billion Blackstone paid for EOP initially gave it580 buildings for a total of 108.6 million sf. The firm thenlaunched into a series of big-ticket property flips, includingMaguire's nearly$3-billion purchase of certain Southern Californiaholdings.