American investment company BlackRock has agreed to acquire private markets data provider Preqin in an all-cash deal worth around $3.2bn.
Preqin, operating through its global offices, is said to provide crucial data and insights to empower financial professionals investing in or allocating to alternative investments. The company supports clients across the entire investment lifecycle with essential information and advanced analytics solutions.
Currently, Preqin is owned by its management and employees, in partnership with Valhalla Ventures, the family holding company of founder Mark O’Hare.
Preqin is projected to generate approximately $240m in highly recurring revenue, having achieved an annual growth rate of around 20% over the past three years.
Preqin founder Mark O’Hare said: “BlackRock is known for excellence in both investment management and financial technology, and together we can accelerate our efforts to deliver better private markets data and analytics to all of our clients at scale.”
BlackRock, through its Aladdin platform, provides technology solutions to over 1,000 clients. Aladdin integrates the investment management process using a common data language, offering a comprehensive view of portfolios across both public and private markets.
The technology platform facilitates scalability, provides valuable insights, and supports business transformation.
According to BlackRock, the combination of Preqin’s data and research tools and Aladdin’s complementary workflow capabilities will establish a leading provider of technology and data for private markets.
BlackRock believes that the acquisition integrates a highly complementary data business into its investment technology, thereby expanding into the rapidly growing private markets data sector.
Integrating Preqin with eFront, Aladdin’s private markets solution, enhances data, research, and investment processes. It benefits fund managers and investors across various stages, including fundraising, deal sourcing, portfolio management, accounting, and performance tracking.
BlackRock also plans for Preqin to continue as a standalone solution.
Aladdin global head Sudhir Nair said: “Together with Preqin, we can make private markets investing easier and more accessible while building a better-connected platform for investors and fund managers. This presents a substantial opportunity for Aladdin to bridge the transparency gap between public and private markets through data and analytics.”
The transaction is anticipated to conclude by the end of 2024, pending regulatory approvals and other standard closing conditions.
Barclays acted as BlackRock’s primary financial adviser, supported by legal counsel from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Preqin was advised solely by Goldman Sachs International on financial matters, with legal counsel provided by Macfarlanes. Earlier this year, BlackRock signed a deal worth $12.5bn to acquire independent infrastructure fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).
