Blackstone to Buy Bulk Purchaser CoreTrust From HCA Subsidiary

Blackstone Inc. is buying a company that controls how a swath of businesses owned by private equity firms secure and pay for goods and services as varied as printers, pallets and postage.

The world’s largest alternative asset manager agreed to buy a majority stake in CoreTrust, a business that started within a supply arm for hospital giant HCA Healthcare Inc., Blackstone executives said. HCA’s HealthTrust subsidiary will continue to hold a minority stake in CoreTrust. A Blackstone spokesperson declined to comment on financial terms of the deal.

CoreTrust aggregates the buying power of its customers -- mostly companies backed ...