BlackRock completed its acquisition of HPS Investment Partners. With the addition of HPS, BlackRock aims to more fully meet accelerating client demands, providing clients and borrowers access to integrated solutions at scale. Operating alongside BlackRock’s $3 trillion public fixed income franchise, which includes the Fundamental Fixed Income business, led by Rick Rieder, as well as the Financial Institutions Group, led by Peter Gailliot, the addition of HPS’s capabilities into a combined platform is designed to allow BlackRock to stay ahead of client needs.
To fully capture the opportunities created by this combination, BlackRock is creating Private Financing Solutions (PFS), which will combine the firms’ market-leading private credit, GP and LP solutions and private and liquid CLO businesses into one integrated platform.
“BlackRock has always looked at the full breadth of our clients’ needs in everything we do. Through this combination, we are more strongly positioned to serve our clients, globally and locally, through our One BlackRock culture, with solutions that seamlessly blend public and private,” Laurence D. Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock, said. “The creation of PFS means that we can answer far more client needs with far fewer calls, creating a comprehensive solutions provider for clients and borrowers alike. We are excited to realize the potential of this platform and thrilled to have Scott, Scot, Mike and the talented HPS team join us on this journey.”
“We are thrilled to join BlackRock and lift the HPS success story to a new level,” Scott Kapnick, CEO of HPS, said. “Current opportunities in the private credit markets are enormous and successfully navigating them will require entrepreneurial drive, disciplined risk management, global reach and a powerful platform to originate the most compelling transactions. BlackRock Private Financing Solutions will deliver all these success factors to our clients, investors, shareholders and employees. We are ready and excited to hit the ground running.”
Kapnick will be an observer to the BlackRock Board of Directors.
Perella Weinberg Partners served as lead financial advisor to BlackRock. Morgan Stanley also served as financial advisor, with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Clifford Chance acting as legal counsel. J.P. Morgan Securities served as lead financial advisor to HPS, with Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities, Deutsche Bank Securities, BNP Paribas and RBC Capital Markets acting as co-financial advisors and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson serving as legal counsel.
