No. of Recommendations: 1
Alongside its fourth-quarter results, BlackRock announced that it had acquired Global Infrastructure Partners in a deal worth some $12.5 billion. Expected to close in the third quarter, the transaction comprises $3 billion in cash -- which BlackRock intends to fund through debt -- and 12 million shares of the company's common stock, which closed at $792.61 on Thursday. BlackRock said that around 30% of the total consideration, all in stock, will be deferred and is expected to be issued in about five years.
GIP is one of the largest independent equity and debt fund managers focused on infrastructure, with more than $100 billion in client assets targeted toward energy, transport, water and waste, and digital infrastructure. Infrastructure is currently a $1 trillion market, BlackRock said, and is forecast to be one of the fastest-growing segments of private markets in the years ahead, supported by structural trends including upgrading digital infrastructure like telecoms.
"The combination of BlackRock infrastructure with GIP will make us the second-largest private markets infrastructure manager with over $150 billion in total [assets under management], providing clients ... with the high-coupon, inflation-protected, long-duration investments they need," BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink said in a statement. "This ambitious transformation of our firm positions us better than ever."
https://www.barrons.com/articles/blackrock-global-...Not sure if this helps or hurts Brookfield. It has decades of head start in infra investments. But BLK is the big gorilla in asset management. Not too long before we see low-cost infra ETFs, which may siphon off investment dollars from BN.
