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’BlackRock to buy BGI for $13bn
BlackRock agreed on Thursday night to pay $13.5bn in cash and shares to buy Barclays Global Investors in a deal that will make the US money manager the world’s biggest – with more than $3,000bn in assets under management.
BlackRock nears $13bn deal for BGI
BlackRock looks set to seal the acquisition of Barclays Global Investors and become the world’s biggest money manager by Wednesday. The US group plans to pay Barclays $12bn-$13bn for BGI – half in cash and half in shares – to create a group with more than $3,000bn in assets under management,
BlackRock scrambles for BGI
BlackRock was on Sunday in discussions with Barclays as it raced to seal the purchase of Barclays Global Investors and see off an 11th-hour challenge from Bank of New York Mellon. Barclays is expected to decide early this week on who should buy its BGI unit.
First test for US toxic asset plan
The Obama administration will on Friday get the first indication of investor interest in its $1,000bn toxic assets plan amid fears that the threat of government intervention and banks’ reluctance to sell will deter fund managers from participating.
BlackRock profits fall 84%
BlackRock, one of the world’s biggest fund management companies, suffered an 84% annual drop in Q4 earnings, as investors pulled money from hedge funds and performance fees plunged. BlackRock, which is 49% owned by Merrill Lynch,
BlackRock to cut jobs
US asset manager BlackRock warned its employees on Monday of impending job cuts to be made this week, saying it was looking for ways to reduce expenses in the challenging market and economic conditions,
Pimco, BlackRock, bid to manage US assets
Pimco and BlackRock have submitted proposals to manage troubled mortgage-backed securities in the biggest portion of the US Treasury’s $700bn financial-rescue programme, reports Bloomberg. State Street and Bank of New York Mellon bid to handle record-keeping and custody services for the Treasury,
It’s official: Lehman takeover story now out of control
Just as it looked like the Korean contingent had abandoned Lehman, Reuters cites South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reporting on Wednesday morning that state-run Korea Development Bank is seeking a controlling stake in Lehman Brothers,
Merrill disappoints SWFs on BlackRock
Sovereign wealth funds missed out when Merrill Lynch last week decided against selling its 49% stake in BlackRock, the fund manager. If Merrill had gone through with the deal, some of its BlackRock shares were likely to have been purchased by Kuwait Investment Authority,
Waiting for Merrill
Bullish financials.
Wednesday’s rally amongst US banks didn’t show signs of petering out on Thursday, with most Wall Street firms buoyant on news of JP Morgan’s not-so-bad bad results.
Then there’s BlackRock.
Merrill set to sell Bloomberg stake
Merrill Lynch is set to sell its 20% stake in Bloomberg for about $4.5bn but will retain its far more valuable 49% holding in money manager BlackRock. The sale of the Bloomberg stake back to Michael Bloomberg,
Hedging Inmarsat
Inmarsat is well known to wealthy hedge fund managers: its Fleetphone is a popular yachting accessory allowing them to connect their laptops up to track stock prices at sea.
Perhaps that is why the putative bid for London-listed Inmarsat by Harbinger Capital,
Merrill considered BlackRock, Bloomberg sales
Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain said that the world’s largest brokerage would consider selling its stakes in news and financial data company Bloomberg and money manager BlackRock if it needed more capital,
Blackrock, UBS and the SWFs: A deal made in heaven
The FT’s weekend report on how sovereign wealth funds have provided more than half the equity for the BlackRock fund that bought $15bn of troubled mortgage debt from UBS this month is about one of those rare deals that makes everybody happy.
UBS to finance BlackRock’s $15bn SIV deal
UBS on Wednesday disclosed it would fund three-quarters of the new special investment vehicle on to which it has offloaded $15bn of troubled credits. The terms of the sale of securities to BlackRock, the US fund manager,
[Vancouver Dispatch] Opportunities from the Credit Crisis?
A presentation entitled: “The Credit/Liquidity Crisis of 2007: Opportunities for US Bond Investors” sounds as though it would leave you with grounds for optimism. Not quite.
Instead, Michael Lustig,
BlackRock in $15bn UBS debt deal
BlackRock, the US asset manager, will pay UBS $15bn for a portfolio of subprime mortgage debt in a deal that the Swiss bank plans to announce on Tuesday alongside its Q1 results, said people close to the transaction.
Blackrock to manage Bear portfolio
BlackRock on Monday added another $30bn to the $1,400bn it already manages as its share price rose 9% to $224.53 on news that the New York Fed had selected the US asset manager to manage Bear Stern’s $30bn portfolio under guidelines established to “minimise disruption to financial markets and maximize recovery value”,
BlackRock seizes its chances in China
BlackRock on Monday opened its first representative office in Beijing and paired up with Bank of China, one of the big four state-controlled banks, to launch an asset management venture that has approval to start a Rmb10bn ($1.4bn) stock-based fund.
FT analysis: Silence not necessarily golden for sovereign funds
Sovereign wealth funds are suddenly the capital provider of first and last resort for ailing US financial institutions, investing at least $30bn in some of Wall Street’s biggest banks and brokerages, writes the FT’s Henny Sender in an FT analysis on Friday.
Banks, BlackRock, press ahead with SIV fund
The three US banks behind the planned superfund for cash-strapped structured investment vehicles on Tuesday said they were committed to pressing ahead despite reduced potential demand. Syndication of the bank liquidity facility for the fund,
Banks’ SIV superfund taps Blackrock
BlackRock, the asset manager 49% owned by Merrill Lynch, is set to be signed up as the manager of the $75bn superfund being put together by the top three US banks – Citigroup, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase.
NYSE’s Thain takes reins at Merrill Lynch
John Thain, chief executive of NYSE Euronext, is to be the new chairman and chief executive of Merrill Lynch, replacing Stan O’Neal, who quit two weeks ago after the company announced it was facing $7.9bn of writedowns on its subprime-related holdings.
BlackRock to launch distressed funds, says Fink
BlackRock, the biggest listed US asset manager, is launching more distressed securities funds to take advantage of the current credit market troubles, chairman and chief executive Laurence Fink said on Tuesday,
Everything must go! Banks discount LBO debt
Some banks are waking up to a nasty hangover after the LBO credit party: the H1 binge saw them take on board unprecedented amounts of leveraged debt and now they’re having trouble shifting it.
Things are certainly picking up – buyers are beginning to circle.