Bissinger on Blackstone on CNBC's "The Closing Bell"

On the eve of the initial public offering of private-equity firm Blackstone, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-CA, called on the SEC to block it.  CNBC's Maria Bartiromo invited me to participate in a panel discussion of the issue.  I agreed with the panel that intervention made little sense, but that Congress should use the Blackstone IPO to investigate the largely nonpublic world of private equity.  The drop in Blackstone's share price following the IPO raises further questions about why a private equity firm like Blackstone, which long preached the benefits of avoiding the burden of public disclosures, quarterly earning reports, and so forth, would choose to go public.  What does the Blackstone IPO, particularly its drop in share value following the IPO, tell us about the future of private equity and the credit markets which have long supported private-equity firms?