BlackRock is to buy Preqin, the provider of private markets data for £2.55 billion or approximately $3.2 billion in cash, the asset management group has announced.
The deal would bring together Preqin’s data and research tools with BlackRock's Aladdin fintech platform targeting financial professionals such as portfolio managers looking to analyse risk and investment opportunities.
BlackRock says the "complementary workflow capabilities in a unified platform will create a preeminent private markets technology and data provider."
This also facilitates BlackRock's expansion in the private markets data segment, which is experiencing rapid growth alongside investor demand for private markets assets and access. BlackRock estimates alternative assets will reach some $40trn over the next six years, with instititions and wealth investors increasing allocations to alternatives.
This development increases demand for standardised data, benchmarks and analytics. The private markets data market is estimated to be worth $8bn currently, growing at 12% annually, to reach $18bn by 2030, BlackRock adds.
Preqin offers global coverage of 190,000 funds, 60,000 fund managers and 30,000 private markets investors. It has more than 200,000 users, including asset managers, insurers, pensions, wealth managers, banks, and other service providers. In 2024, the business is expected to generate some $240mn of "highly recurring revenue". It has grown approximately 20% per year in the last three years, BlackRock states, adding that it foresees a combination of Preqin with eFront, Aladdin’s private markets solution.
Rob Goldstein, BlackRock chief operating officer, said: "BlackRock’s vision has always been to bring together investments, technology, and data to offer solutions that meet our clients’ needs across their whole portfolio. As clients increasingly evolve their focus from choosing products to constructing portfolios, this shift requires technology, data, and analytics that create a ‘common language’ for investing across both public and private markets. We see data powering the industry across technology, capital formation, investing, and risk management."
"Every acquisition has been an opportunity to strengthen our capabilities for clients—and in fact, we have been a client of Preqin for many years, and we look forward to welcoming the talented Preqin team to BlackRock."
