Private Equity-owned Companies in Times Square

234 W 42^nd St.

Private equity owner: Blackstone Group

Owned by private equity since: 1998; By Blackstone since March 2007

Deal value: $1.9 billion

Employees: 6,000

The waxing fortunes of the buyout industry are on display alongside Hillary Clinton, George Clooney, and Brad Pitt at the Times Square outpost of Madame Tussauds, the world’s most famous wax museum. The Blackstone Group created the world’s second largest attractions operator when it merged the amusement parks and attractions of Merlin Group and Tussauds Group following the $1.9 billion March 2007 buyout of Tussauds. Madame Tussauds has been a favorite attraction of private equity ever since the late 1990s. It was owned by buyout shops Charterhouse Capital from 1998-2005, and Dubai International Capital from 2005 until its sale to Blackstone. At the Times Square museum you can make J. Lo’s cheeks turn red by whispering into her wax ear, but the recent public offering by Blackstone made even the most seasoned Wall Street observers blush. Pioneering what could be an I.P.O. stampede by buyout shops, Blackstone raised $4.75 billion.