Blackstone, Gates team up for Signature Aviation bid as Carlyle circles 01/08/2021 | 07:35am EDT Send by mail : Message : Required fields (Reuters) - Blackstone won over Signature Aviation's biggest shareholder Bill Gates for a possible $4.3 billion bid for the British private jet servicing company, going head-to-head with another potential suitor Carlyle. Blackstone's agreement with Gates' Cascade Investment Llc for its planned offer announced on Friday comes just hours after Signature confirmed an initial takeover approach from Carlyle. Blackstone and Cascade, which already owns a 19% stake in London-based Signature, are in advanced talks with the company about their proposal that involves a cash offer of 3.81 pounds per share, they said in a joint statement.