June 08, 2009
--- BlackRock, Inc., confirmed that it has been engaged in discussions with Barclays Bank about BlackRock's potential purchase of Barclays Global Investors (BGI), including the iShares business. ---
The company said in a news release that negotiations are ongoing and there is no certainty that any transaction will be agreed upon or, if agreed upon, completed.
In April, Barclays announced a deal to sell its iShares business to CVC Capital for $4.4 billion, but it reserved the right to keep entertaining suitors until June 18 (see “Vanguard Offers $5B for iShares’
).
In May, Barclays said it had received "unsolicited interest" in BGI, as well as iShares, since the CVC deal was announced. Bloomberg reported inquiries for a broader deal from BlackRock and Bank of New York Mellon (see “Barclays Reportedly Considering Broader BGI Deal’
).
Rebecca Moore