BlackRock has agreed to acquire Preqin, the private markets data provider, for £2.55bn (€3bn) in cash, it was announced today.
The asset manager said the deal transforms its private markets capabilities by delivering integrated investments, technology, and data for the whole portfolio.
It said that combining Preqin with Aladdin and eFront positions it to integrate private markets investment workflows with private markets data, across funding raising, deal sourcing, portfolio monitoring and accounting and performance.
Aladdin is BlackRock’s investment and risk management platform and eFront is the alternatives software platform that it bought in 2019. Preqin will also continue to be offered as a standalone solution.
The acquisition marks a strategic expansion into the fast-growing private markets data segment, which BlackRock said is estimated to be an $8bn total addressable market that is growing by 12% per year.
Preqin has been around for some 20 years and now has global coverage of 190,000 funds, 60,000 fund managers and 30,000 private markets investors, reaching more than 200,000 users, including asset managers, insurers, and pensions.
“BlackRock’s vision has always been to bring together investments, technology and data to offer solutions that meet our clients’ needs across their whole portfolio,” said Rob Goldstein, BlackRock’s chief operating officer.
“As clients increasingly evolve their focus from choosing products to constructing portfolios, this shift requires technology, data and analytics that create a ‘common language’ for investing across both public and private markets,” he added.
“We see data powering the industry across technology, capital formation, investing, and risk management.”
Sudhir Nair, global head of Aladdin, said that with Preqin, BlackRock could make private markets investing easier and more accessible “while building a better-connected platform for investors and fund managers”.
“This presents a substantial opportunity for Aladdin to bridge the transparency gap between public and private markets through data and analytics,” he said.
The transaction is expected to close before the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
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