BlackRock, Inc. has agreed to acquire Preqin, an independent market data solution provider, for about $3.2 billion in cash. Bringing together Preqin’s data and research tools with Aladdin’s complementary workflow capabilities in a unified platform will create a preeminent private markets technology and data provider.
The completion of the transaction is expected prior to the end of 2024, pending regulatory approvals and standard closing conditions.
Private markets are the fastest-growing asset management segment, with alternative assets expected to reach nearly $40 trillion by the decade’s end. Private market data is estimated to be a $8 billion total addressable market growing 12% per year, reaching $18 billion by 2030.
With a 20-year history, Preqin is a leading independent data solutions provider in private markets with global coverage of 190,000 funds, 60,000 fund managers and 30,000 private markets investors, reaching more than 200,000 users, including asset managers, insurers, pensions, wealth managers, banks, and other service providers. In 2024, Preqin is expected to generate ~$240 million of highly recurring revenue and has grown approximately 20% per year in the last three years.
BlackRock offers technology solutions to more than 1,000 clients through the Aladdin platform. The integration of Preqin with eFront, Aladdin’s private markets solution, consolidates data, research, and investment processes for fund managers and investors. This integration covers fundraising, deal sourcing, portfolio management, accounting, and performance. Preqin will remain available as a separate solution.
“Rob Goldstein, Chief Operating Officer, at BlackRock said, “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.”
“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,” said Sudhir Nair, Global Head of Aladdin.
“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.” said Mark O’Hare, Founder of Preqin.
“Private markets continue to evolve and so is Preqin. I am incredibly excited about the opportunities this next phase of growth, together with BlackRock, promises our customers and our employees,” said Christoph Knaack, CEO of Preqin.
Under the terms of the transaction, BlackRock will acquire 100% of the business and assets of Preqin for total consideration of £2.55 billion or approximately $3.2 billion in cash.
