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COUGHLIN STOIA GELLER RUDMAN & ROBBINS LLP FILES CLASS ACTION SUIT AGAINST THE BLACKSTONE GROUP L.P.

New York – April 15, 2008 – Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP (“Coughlin Stoia”) (http://www.csgrr.com/cases/blackstonegroup/) today announced that a class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of The Blackstone Group L.P. (“Blackstone” or the “Company”) (NYSE:BX) pursuant and/or traceable to the Company’s initial public offering on or about June 25, 2007 (the “IPO” or the “Offering”) seeking to pursue remedies under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”).

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from today. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff’s counsel, Samuel H. Rudman or David A. Rosenfeld of Coughlin Stoia at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058, or via e-mail at djr@csgrr.com. If you are a member of this class, you can view a copy of the complaint as filed or join this class action online at http://www.csgrr.com/cases/blackstonegroup/. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.

The complaint charges Blackstone and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Act. Blackstone, through its subsidiaries, provides alternative asset management and financial advisory services worldwide.

According to the complaint, on or about June 21, 2007, Blackstone filed with the SEC a Form S-1/A Registration Statement (the “Registration Statement”), for the IPO. On or about June 25, 2007, the Prospectus (the “Prospectus”) with respect to the IPO, which forms part of the Registration Statement, became effective and, including the exercise of the over-allotment, more than 133 million shares of Blackstone’s common stock were sold to the public at $31 per share, thereby raising more than $4 billion.

The complaint alleges that the Registration Statement failed to disclose that certain of the Company’s portfolio companies were not performing well and were of declining value and, as a result, Blackstone’s equity investment was impaired and the Company would not generate anticipated performance fees on those investments or would have fees “clawed-back” by limited partners in its funds.

On March 10, 2008, Blackstone issued a press release announcing its financial results for the full year of 2007 and the fourth quarter of 2007, the periods ending December 31, 2007. Among other disclosures, Blackstone announced that it was writing down its investment in Financial Guaranty Insurance Company by $122 million. As of April 15, 2008, Blackstone common stock traded in a range of 17.50 per share, approximately 45% below the IPO price of $31.00 per share.

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages of all those who purchased the common stock of Blackstone pursuant and/or traceable to the Company’s IPO on or about June 25, 2007. The plaintiff is represented by Coughlin Stoia, which has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud.

Coughlin Stoia, a 190-lawyer firm with offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boca Raton, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Atlanta, is active in major litigations pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States and has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, consumers, and companies, as well as victims of human rights violations. The Coughlin Stoia Web site (http://www.csgrr.com) has more information about the firm. Contact: Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP Samuel H. Rudman, 800-449-4900 David A. Rosenfeld djr@csgrr.com