Big payday for Brian Mulroney on Blackstone-Tom Hicks deal?

In a conference call with investors yesterday, Dallas dealmaker Tom Hicks referred to “his friends” at Blackstone Group in reference to his company’s $3.2 billion acquisition of Graham Packaging Holdings Co., owned by Blackstone.

Hicks certainly knows the principals of Blackstone. But maybe even more importantly, former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney is a director of both Blackstone and Hicks Acquisition Co. I, a so-called blank check public company set up to acquire other companies.

When it closes, the deal will be the largest ever between a special purpose acquisition company and an industrial firm.

The closing also starts the clock on a potential big payday for Mulroney and other founding directors of Hicks Acquisition.

When the company was established last year, each Hicks Acquisition director received 69,000 shares of stock that can’t be sold until 180 days after the completion of a deal.

Shares were trading at about $9.30 Tuesday afternoon.

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