Small said during the Bank of America Securities Financial Services Conference that BlackRock is launching a GP Solutions unit that will start to operate once completed the acquisition of HPS Investment Partners
US giant BlackRock aims to finance alternative asset managers for growing its presence in the private capital segment, cfo Martin S. Small, on 11 February, Tuesday, during the Bank of America Securities Financial Services Conference in Miami (see here Bloomberg and here the event webcast).
Martin Small
BlackRock already operates in the private capital sector as it handles resources other private banks and wealth managers and sells tech and risk management services to clients like Franklin Resources (fka Franklin Templeton).
In 2024, BlackRock said it acquired UK private capital data manager Preqin for 2.55 billion GBPs (3.2 billion US Dollar) in cash (see here a previous post by BeBeez).
The US firm’s subsidiary Aladdin provides tech solution to more than one thousand clients and will integrate eFront with Preqin for creating a platform for data, research and investment support for private capital funds and investors. Private markets may thereore benefit of public markets transparency and become available to investors. The acquisition of Preqin could help Blackrock to offer indices and ETF with private assets as underlying. Small previously said: “Risk calculation models, indices, became the language of public markets, they built the entire ETF sector, and we see all these opportunities in private markets”.
On 11 February, small explained that BlackRock is creating a new GP Solutions division which will serve alternative asset managers (General Partners or GPs), who, in turn, manage money for investors in their funds (Limited Partners or LPs). This division will start its operations once completed by the end of this year the November 2024 12 billion worth acquisition of HPS Investment Partners, a private credit firm with nearly 150 billion US Dollar in assets under management(see here the press release).
BlackRock explained that HPS top executives Scott Kapnick, Scot French and Michael Patterson will head the private credit division that the firm was creating. This platform will have extensive capabilities in senior and junior credit solutions, asset-based financing with real estate collateral, private placements and CLOs. The division will also offer direct lending, fund financing and BlackRock’s GP and LP solutions (such as funds of funds, secondary market transactions led by GPs or LPs, co-investments) for developing a complete financing solution for alternative asset managers.
