Blackstone Group has appointed Brian Mulroney, the former Canadian prime minister, to its board as the US buyout firm prepares for an initial public offering that would value it at about $34 billion. Mr Mulroney was Canada’s prime minister between 1984 and 1993 and is now a senior partner at Ogilvy Renault, the Montreal law firm. He will sit on the board alongside Lord [Jacob] Rothschild, founder and chairman of RIT Capital Partners, the investment trust. Blackstone will become the first US buyout firm to float in a move that would see it selling close to a quarter of its management company for about $7.75 billion. The Chinese Government will buy about $3 billion worth of shares, with the remainder offered to the public. Rival private equity firms, such as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Apollo Managements, are weighing up flotations.

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