Blackrock to Buy GIP, Creating $150B Infra Behemoth
Investment behemoth BlackRock has acquired $100 billion infrastructure investor Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) in a combined cash and stock deal valued at around $12.5 billion.
BlackRock will pay $3 billion in cash and around 12 million of its shares to acquire the company helmed by former Credit Suisse executive Adebayo Ogunlesi.
BlackRock will defer 30% of the total, in stock, for five years. It will pay it out based on performance after closing, which is expected to occur in the third quarter. BlackRock will fund the $3 billion through additional debt.
“Infrastructure is one of the most exciting long-term investment opportunities, as a number of structural shifts re-shape the global economy,” BlackRock chairman and CEO Larry Fink said.
Post-acquisition the combined company will boast a greater than $150 billion global infrastructure platform. The GIP management team, led by Ogunlesi, who will also join Blackrock’s board of directors, and four of its founding partners will lead the combined platform.
Founded in 2006, New York-based GIP’s investments include major renewables platforms Clearway, Vena, Atlas and Eolian, in addition to the Gatwick, Edinburgh, and Sydney airports, data center developers CyrusOne, waste and water circular solutions provider Suez, and rail and port operators.
Blackrock also announced several management changes. Stephen Cohen becomes chief product officer and will lead a new global product strategy group. Salim Ramji, global head of iShares and index investments, is leaving, according to a company memo seen by Reuters.
BlackRock manages over $50 billion in assets within its infrastructure business.
