BlackRock Inc. announced it has completed its acquisition of Merrill
Lynch Investment Managers, creating a unit with more than $1 trillion
in assets under management.
The deal was
announced earlier this year-part of a trend that has seen prominent
Wall Street firms sell off their asset-management businesses to avoid
potential conflicts of interest and distribution hurdles.
Analysts have said
BlackRock, by purchasing Merrill Lynch's asset management organization,
is tapping into the firm's distribution capabilities to increase its
retail presence. BlackRock already has a sizeable reputation as a
fixed-income manager for institutional clients.
The financial
details of the merger were not disclosed, but previous reports said
Merrill Lynch sold its investment management unit in return for a
minority stake in BlackRock.