Blackstone Group LP, the world's biggest private-equity firm, is planning to list up to eight of its portflio companies and sell five more as the global economy moves towards recovery.

The Financial Times said that Blackstone was in the process of listing up to eight companies it owns and selling five others - at values twice as high as those estimated at the end of 2008.

New-York-based Blackstone's founder Steve Schwarzman wrote to investors on Friday saying that the world was changing once again and the worst was behind the private equity industry.

Fresh from acquiring 10 theme parks for $2.7 billion last week (See: Blackstone Group clinches $2.7-billion deal to acquire theme parks from Anheuser-Busch InBev), Schwarzman wrote that Blackstone should capitalise on the improved conditions as strategic sales and public equity offers are becoming more frequent now. 

Investors are likely to receive about $2.8 billion as their share of the profits, with about $1.2 billion coming from the expected sale of Kosmos Energy, whose Ghana oil field stake energy giant ExxonMobil agreed last week to acquire Kosmos Energy's stake in Ghana's Jubilee oil field for $4 billion. (See: Exxon to acquire Kosmos Energy's stake in Ghana oil field for $4 billion)

With $94.56 billion worth of assets under management as of 31 December 2008 Blackstone Group and Warburg Pincus hold a majority stake in Kosmos Energy.