Blackstone invests in new hedge fund ApaH Capital - sources

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

BOSTON (Reuters) - Blackstone Group, the world's largest hedge fund investor, is committing $150 million in start-up capital to a hedge fund run by a former senior executive at Lone Star Funds, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Anand Balakrishna Madduri is launching ApaH Capital Management with roughly $200 million in assets, including the capital from Blackstone, one of the people said.

Hong Kong-based ApaH will concentrate on public and private market investments across Asia, including in Australia, China, India and Japan.

Madduri did not respond to requests for comment.

Blackstone declined to comment.

Madduri was a senior managing director at Lone Star Funds for five years and spent seven years at Och-Ziff Capital Management, where he rose to managing director.

Blackstone, which invests $79 billion in hedge funds, is making the investment with cash from its $1.5 billion Strategic Alliance Fund III which backs new entrants into the hedge fund industry.

Blackstone has seeded Palm Lane Capital, Tresidor Investment Management and Jones Road Capital Management among others from Fund III.

Blackstone's seeders take a 15% to 25% cut of the hedge fund's business, people familiar with the terms said.

Securing seed investments from Blackstone often helps new managers establish credentials and get up and running, while it allows Blackstone to get in on the ground floor with promising newcomers.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; editing by Richard Pullin)