With a $15.6 billion buyout fund closed last week, The Blackstone Group will now have more freedom to chase large public companies without having to team up with other shops. Going solo makes it easier to enter and exit deals, said a firm official. "Clearly size does matter," the official said. The shop originally set out for a fund in the range of $11 billion (CFW, 5/23/05).

The announcement that Blackstone closed the largest fund ever also points to how much private equity has changed in recent years. Only two years ago, Blackstone's $6.45 billion fund was the largest. In 2005 it lost that title, as one shop after another closed funds in the $8 billion range.

Buyout shops generally spend no more than 5% of a fund on any transaction. For Blackstone, that means $780 million, more than double the limit of an equity check from its previous $6.45 billion fund. Blackstone has already spent 25% of the latest fund on $30 billion in deals, including VNU, Michaels Stores and Deutsche Telekom.