Black Rock buys Bayo Ogunlesi’s GIP for $12 billion

Black Rock is making a significant move in the world of infrastructure investment by acquiring Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for approximately $12 billion in cash and stock. This acquisition aligns with Black Rock’s strategic focus on infrastructure, which CEO Larry Fink believes presents an exciting long-term investment opportunity. As part of the deal, GIP’s management team will take the lead in a combined infrastructure private markets investment platform at BlackRock.

The transaction is expected to be finalized in the third quarter of this year. In addition to this acquisition, BlackRock has announced its plans to integrate its ETF and Index businesses throughout the entire firm by establishing a new strategic Global Product Solutions business.

GIP CEO Bayo Ogunlesi expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, stating that this platform will become the leading provider of infrastructure solutions for global corporations and the public sector. It aims to mobilize long-term private capital through strong relationships built over the years. Furthermore, BlackRock is creating a new International Business structure that will bring together its leadership across Europe, the Middle East, India, and Asia-Pacific.

The growing demand for logistics and digital infrastructure, coupled with the massive investment required for the transition to low-carbon energy, has made infrastructure an increasingly popular asset class among institutional investors. Larry Fink, BlackRock’s CEO, recognizes this trend and believes that infrastructure offers one of the most exciting long-term investment opportunities due to the structural shifts shaping the global economy.

With $10 trillion in assets under management across all markets, BlackRock has been actively seeking a transformative deal to counter its stagnant revenues and address political challenges to its environmental, social, and corporate governance business in the United States.

Established in 2006, GIP manages over $100 billion in assets and boasts an impressive portfolio that includes Gatwick airport in Britain, the Port of Melbourne, and significant offshore wind projects. Five of GIP’s founding partners, including Chairman Bayo Ogunlesi, will join BlackRock, with Ogunlesi also joining BlackRock’s board of directors upon the deal’s completion.

Five of GIP’s founding partners will join BlackRock, including GIP Chairman Bayo Ogunlesi, who will also join BlackRock’s board of directors following closure of the deal, it added. Ogunlesi will step down from Goldman Sachs’ board following his move to BlackRock, Goldman CEO David Solomon said on Friday. The deal adds “new contenders” to the list of candidates to succeed Fink, who at 71 has yet to name his eventual replacement, said Cathy Seifert, an analyst at CFRA. “As alternative assets become an increasingly important part of BlackRock’s business mix, the next leader’s private asset skill set will become more important,”