BlackRock may seek US$10bil to buy company stakes
LOS ANGELES: BlackRock Inc, the world’s largest money manager, is seeking to raise more than US$10 bil to buy and hold stakes in companies.
BlackRock, which oversees about US$6 trillion in assets, is seeking capital from sovereign-wealth funds, pensions and other big investors for an effort named BlackRock Long-Term Private Capital, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The new vehicle would make investments between US$500mil and US$2bil on long-term themes like diverging demographics globally, the growing middle class and millennial spending patterns, said the person, who asked not to be named because the information is private.
An example of an investment might be a minority stake in a family-owned business. Similar to the approach of Berkshire Hathaway Inc, BlackRock would look to hold on to its stakes for a long time. Unlike famed investor Warren Buffett though, the fund might not buy a whole business.
The Wall Street Journal reported the effort earlier on Wednesday.
The move may position BlackRock, which is headed by chief executive officer Laurence D. Fink, to compete with private-equity giants such as Carlyle Group LP, Apollo Global Management LLC and Blackstone Group LP.
BlackRock began in the headquarters of Blackstone, its first financial backer, which gave BlackRock a US$5mil line of credit for a 40% stake. While business was picking up, the relationship between BlackRock and Blackstone became tense, Bloomberg has previously reported.
Fink had a falling out with Blackstone co-founder Stephen Schwarzman in 1994 over BlackRock’s independence, resulting in the sale of BlackRock to PNC Financial Services Group Inc for US$240mil.
BlackRock hoped to complete the fundraising by the middle of this year, the person said. The initiative will be overseen by Mark Wiseman with David Blumer, head of alternatives at the New York-based company.
BlackRock hired Wiseman, the former head of Canada’s largest pension fund, in 2016 to run its global active equity business.