BlackRock nears BGI takeover
BLACKROCK looks set to seal the deal to buy Barclays Global Investors (BGI) as early as today, sources say.
The deal would merge the two giant firms to create the world’s biggest money manager.
The US bank is expected to pay Barclays up to $13bn (£8.1bn) in a mixture of cash and shares. It is also expected to give Barclays a 20 per cent stake in the combined group.
A group of investors from the Middle East is likely to be included in the acquisition, with the Qatar Investment Authority among those set to pay $3bn (£1.9bn) in exchange for a 12 per cent stake.
Barclays shares rose 2.2 per cent yesterday, closing at 290p.
The deal would put an end to Barclays’ discussions with Bank of New York Mellon and also scupper the proposed sale of iShares, a part of BGI, to buy-out house CVC for $4.4bn.
BlackRock, led by chief executive Larry Fink is the world’s second largest asset manager, with funds worth $1.28 trillion, while BGI sits in seventh place with just over $1 trillion.
A Barclays statement said it was still in talks with a number of parties about both iShares and BGI.