BlackRock has agreed to buy Preqin, a UK private markets data group, for ￡2.55bn in cash, as the world’s largest money manager presses harder into alternative assets and makes its first foray into financial information provision, said people briefed about the matter.
The $10.5tn asset manager beat S&P Global and Bloomberg to acquire Preqin in the latest of a series of deals for specialised data providers, they added. The deal is expected to be announced as soon as Monday.
Dealmaking for data providers has been rampant in recent years as private equity firms, asset managers and larger information businesses race to serve investors who want access to granular information about all corners of the financial markets, including private equity, infrastructure and hedge funds.