BlackRock Agrees To Acquire UK-based Data Group Preqin For £2.55 Billion

BlackRock has agreed to acquire the UK-based data group Preqin for £2.55 billion. According to The Financial Times, BlackRock, a $10.5 trillion asset manager, outpaced competitors S&P Global and Bloomberg to secure the acquisition of Preqin, a UK-based data group.

The deal, which is part of BlackRock's strategy to acquire specialized data providers, is anticipated to be officially announced on Monday.

In recent years, there have been significant acquisitions in the data provider sector, such as S&P Global's acquisition of IHS Markit for $44 billion in 2020 and the London Stock Exchange Group's purchase of Refinitiv for $27 billion. Private equity firms have also targeted smaller firms, with Permira acquiring a majority stake in Reorg, valuing the distressed debt and bankruptcy information provider at approximately $1.3 billion.

BlackRock intends to maintain Preqin as a distinct service while also incorporating its data feeds into BlackRock's Aladdin and eFront risk management platforms. The deal is anticipated to be finalized later this year.

Established two decades ago, Preqin specializes in monitoring and analyzing the performance of private equity and hedge funds. With a user base of around 200,000, the company provides comprehensive data on 60,000 fund managers and 30,000 investors. Preqin has achieved robust growth, with its revenue increasing by over 20% annually in the past three years. This growth trajectory has been bolstered by the sustained expansion of the private capital sector, which is projected to surpass $40 trillion in assets by the end of the decade.

BlackRock's acquisition of Preqin, valued at 13 times its expected 2024 revenue of $240 million, underscores the asset manager's strategic move to enhance its capabilities in data analytics and strengthen its position in the financial information services sector.