BlackRock strikes $12.5 billion deal for Global Infrastructure Partners
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -BlackRock said on Friday it would buy Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for $12.5 billion in a major bet on alternative assets and announced a shake-up of its top management.
The deal, which includes $3 billion in cash and 12 million BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) shares, will put the asset management giant at the heart of investing in ports, power, and digital infrastructure projects around the globe. Once the deal closes, the firm will hold approximately $150 billion in infrastructure assets across a portfolio that ranges from the U.S. liquefied natural gas export market to wastewater services in France to airports in England and Australia.
Soaring demand for logistics and digital infrastructure, and the trillions of dollars needed for the transition away from high-carbon energy, have made the asset class increasingly popular among institutional investors.
“Infrastructure is one of the most exciting long-term investment opportunities, as a number of structural shifts re-shape the global economy," said chief executive Larry Fink.
BlackRock, which manages $10 trillion across all markets, has been on the hunt for what it hopes will be a transformative deal as its revenues stagnated and its environmental, social, and corporate governance business came under political attacks in the United States.
«This is [Fink's] chance to put his final fingerprint on the company» and allow it to compete with firms such as BlackStone and Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO), said Kyle Sanders, an analyst at Edward Jones, who has a buy rating on the stock.
Founded in 2006, GIP manages more than $100 billion in assets and has a portfolio including Britain's Gatwick airport, the Port of Melbourne and major offshore
Read more on investing.com
