BlackRock to buy real estate firm MGPA
Asset manager aims to expand its property business in Europe and Asia-Pacific
BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, agreed to buy private-equity property investment advisory firm MGPA for an undisclosed amount to expand real estate business in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.
MGPA manages about US$12 billion, focusing on real estate funds management, co-investments and separate-account mandates for institutional investors, BlackRock said yesterday. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter and won't materially affect BlackRock's earnings per share, the New York-based firm said.
BlackRock, led by chief executive Laurence Fink, has expanded into private equity, real estate, energy and hedge funds as investors seek to diversify beyond stock and bond funds. MGPA employs 220 people in 13 offices in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, including cities like Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur and Warsaw.
"The addition of MGPA to BlackRock is an important step in the evolution of our Asia-based investment capabilities and is aligned with the growth of our Asia-Pacific franchise," said Mark McCombe, BlackRock's Asia-Pacific chairman.
The acquisition will fill a void for BlackRock in the region with fast economic growth and an expanding middle class, McCombe, a former HSBC executive who joined BlackRock in September 2011, said yesterday.
BlackRock's US$13 billion existing real estate investment business is focused on the US and Britain, he said, adding that the money manager doesn't have such a team or investments in Asia.
In contrast, about two-thirds of MGPA's assets have been deployed in Asia, where the firm has made about 130 investments over the years, McCombe said.