Read on Twitter
Thread: Thinking about the current Hotel market, and revisiting the Blackstone/Cosmo deal. This was the deal that got me interested in Real Estate private equity. I stayed in the Cosmo the year after Blackstone bought it and read everything I could about it. 
$BX, fresh off a big win from selling their stake in the Hilton take-private, buys the Cosmo for $1.73b less than 1/2 the cost of construction.
The Cosmo was conceived pre-GFC, and by the time it was completed the company financing the project had defaulted on a major loan to Deutsche Bank.
This left the property in limbo with $DB who dumps another $3.9 into the project. When BX comes around in 2014, DB is looking for an out.
BX exits 4 years later for around $4b. That same year they JV with MGM to buy the Real Estate assets of the Bellagio for $4.5b, immediately entering into a lease back agreement with MGM.
In 5 years time, BX goes from having no Vegas presence at all to being the landlord of one of its prized assets. All by parlaying a good asset in a distressed position. 
I still think it’s one of the most impressive deals ever and probably especially relevant today: https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/this-day-in-buyout-history-blackstone-bags-the-newest-jewel-in-las-vegas
