BlackRock, Inc. (BLK) and Barclays plc (BCS) confirmed this morning in separate press releases that BlackRock is engaged in discussions to purchase Barclays’ asset management arm Barclays Global Investors (BGI). The potential deal would include Barclay’s iShares unit, which is the market leader in the emerging and highly coveted Exchange Traded Funds industry. If the deal were completed, BlackRock would solidify itself as the largest fund manager in the world, surpassing both Fidelity and State Street.
On April 9, Barclay’s agreed to sell iShares to CVC Capital Partners SICAV-FIS S.A. ("CVC") for a total consideration of approximately $4.4 billion. As part of the deal, Barclays’ was provided with a "go-shop" provision that allowed it to explore other competing deals though June 19, 2009.
According to Barclays’ press release, the firm has had discussions with numerous suitors, one of which is rumored to be the Bank of New York Mellon Corp. In BlackRock’s press release, the firm stated that “the negotiations are ongoing and there is no certainty that any transaction will be agreed upon or, if agreed upon, completed.” |
