Everyone Wants In on Blackstone Deal

John Fitzgibbons, former investment banker and analyst at IPOScoop.com, says the tax situation is worrisome. But he adds that any tax code amendments likely wouldn't affect Blackstone until after 2012, because of a transitionary clause embedded in the proposal.

David Menlow, president at public offering specialist IPOFinancial.com, says that investors should be wary of buying Blackstone for the long term, because of the tax issues. But he is bullish on the company coming out of the gate.

"This [public offering] could be the last of its kind," he says, noting that tax changes could undercut future private equity and hedge fund efforts to tap the public markets. "This company is the closest representative of a cash cow as you're ever going to see."

Long-term investors in Blackstone face the possibility that taxes could reduce the ability of the company to generate gangbuster returns. But for now, the outlook remains sanguine for future LBO activity.

"If you look at Blackstone and you look at the sector, regardless of what the political climate might be, private equity has been very strong," says Todd Huxster, editor and researcher at IPO advisory firm IPO Vital Signs in Chester Town, Md.

Anticipation for Blackstone is heady partly because the IPO represents a unique opportunity for mom-and-pop types to own a stake in a fund that has been the exclusive remit of deep-pocketed wealthy individuals and institutional investors. Fortress' share sale in February was the first public offering of a hedge fund company, but Blackstone brings much more glitz.