U.S. senators seek SEC study on Blackstone bill

WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - The leaders of the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday asked U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox for an analysis of legislation that would sharply raise taxes on private equity funds that go public, such as Blackstone Group LP [BG.UL].

Sens. Christopher Dodd and Richard Shelby, the Democratic chairman and senior Republican on the panel, respectively, asked Cox to examine the bill's "likely impact on the nation's capital markets, including the potential effects on investor protection, capital formation and other relevant issues."

The bill was introduced last week by leaders of the Senate Finance Committee.