Blackstone brought its much-anticipated initial public offering forward by a week yesterday as the American buyout firm sought to eliminate the potential for further bad news to damage the flotation.

The private equity firm, the subject of a proposed new Bill that could knock an estimated 20 per cent off its market value, has brought the pricing of its shares forward to tomorrow.

The shares are still expected to be priced at between $29 and $31, raising up to $4.75 billion, and are likely to begin trading on Friday.

Ben Holmes, the publisher of Morningnotes, a research firm that tracks IPOs, said: “Blackstone is in the middle of a storm of bad news and it has a solid order book [for the float]. So why hold off any longer than necessary and take the risk of more and more bad news impacting the float?”

Scott Sweet, the managing partner of IPO Boutique, the advisory firm, added: “Blackstone is really doing itself a favour by bringing forward the flotation because there are some great deals coming out next week that may compete with it.”

Blackstone said last week that proposed amendments to the way in which private equity profits are taxed would cause “a material increase in our tax liability” that might “result in a reduction of the value of our common units”.

Max Baucus and Chuck Grassley, the two members of the Senate Finance Committee who introduced the Bill, are proposing to increase from 15 per cent to 35 per cent the rate of tax publicly traded investment partnerships must pay. Their proposal is part of a broader examination by Congress of private equity taxes, which eventually could tax buyout executives much more heavily on the “carried interest” – share of the investment profits – they receive.

The “Blackstone Bill” faces a lengthy passage to enactment and Blackstone would not be liable to pay the higher tax rate until 2012. Investors are still concerned, nevertheless.

Evidence is also mounting fast that interest rates will rise as central banks around the world move to curb inflation. This will make it more expensive for buyout firms such as Blackstone to finance leveraged buyouts and reduce the potential for making huge profits when the businesses are sold on.

There is also growing criticism of Stephen Schwarzman, Blackstone’s co-founder and chief executive. Last week, it emerged that he had earned $398.3 million in 2006 and that his stake would be worth more than $8 billion when the group floated. His opulent 60th birthday party in February was the talk of New York society and cemented resentment towards him. Politicians believe that he should be taxed more heavily; private equity executives wish that he would not advertise how much money they are making.

A few days after the party Mr Schwarzman was accused of attempting to prop up Blackstone’s valuation by hiring 17 of Wall Street’s main banks in order to reduce the potential for criticism of the IPO.

ComScore, a researcher into internet use, Authentic, a specialist in the authentication of fingerprints, and Data Domain, the data protection firm, are among IPOs due next week.

Blackstone declined to comment on any aspect of its IPO.

Story so far

- Blackstone was founded in 1985 by Peter Peterson and Stephen Schwarzman with four staff and a balance sheet of $400,000

- It will become the first American buyout firm to float, though rivals including Carlyle Group, Apollo and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts may follow suit. Seventeen underwriters have been recruited for the float

- Blackstone’s net income was $2.26 billion last year, up from $1.3 billion in 2005 and just $39.4 million in 2002

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