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The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Barclays Global Investors UK Holdings Limited, a business division of the UK-based Barclays group, by BlackRock, Inc., based in the US. Both companies are global asset managers. After examining the operation, the Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it.
Barclays Global Investors is active in structured investment strategies such as indexing, global allocation and risk-controlled active products as well as related investment services such as securities lending, cash management and transition management services, primarily to institutional clients. BlackRock manages assets on behalf of institutional and individual investors worldwide through a variety of fixed income, cash management, equity and balanced and alternative investment separate accounts and funds. It also offers risk management and advisory services.
The proposed merger would bring together two leading global asset managers with differentiated asset management products and strategies.
The Commission’s examination of the proposed transaction showed that there were overlaps between the activities of Barclays Global Investors and BlackRock in institutional and retail asset management, active and passive asset management, and in transition management services However, the Commission's market investigation confirmed that although the combined firm would be a significant player in a number of the sectors mentioned, its market shares would remain relatively limited. In addition, the overlaps between the parties' activities would be very limited on a split between active and passive management, with BlackRock primarily an active manager and BGI specialised in passive funds. The combined firm would continue to face several effective competitors in all of the markets where it is present. The Commission therefore concluded that the proposed transaction would not raise competition concerns.
More information on the case will be available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases/index/m111.html#m_5580
