3rd UPDATE: Norges Bank Boosts BlackRock Stake
November 18 2010 - 5:20PM
Dow Jones News
Norges Bank, the central bank of Norway, became the latest to
report boosting its stake in BlackRock Inc. (BLK) after Bank of
America Corp. (BAC) and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (PNC)
sold a total of $9.57 billion in a BlackRock secondary offer this
month.
According to a filing with U.S. regulators Thursday, Norges Bank
now owns 9.85 million shares, or 7.5% of BlackRock's common shares.
The stake translates to a 5.2% economic interest in BlackRock, one
of the world's largest money managers, with $3.45 trillion assets
under management.
The last disclosed stake by Norges was 169,629 shares at the end
of 2009, according to data from FactSet.
Norges presumably acquired shares in the secondary offering. The
bank's communications adviser Bunny Nooryani declined to comment,
saying the fund never comments on individual investments.
Norway's central bank investment unit manages the Norwegian
government's global pension fund, previously known as the Oil Fund.
The fund was set up in 1990 to safeguard Norway's oil wealth for
future generations and has a market value of about $506
billion.
The fund in November made its first property investment, buying
a 150-year lease on a 25% stake in the U.K. Crown Estate's
portfolio of properties on Regent Street in London.
A rebound in global stock markets helped boost the fund's
returns to $350 million in the third quarter, its fifth-largest
quarterly return ever. It invests roughly 60% of capital in
equities, 35%-40% in fixed-income securities and roughly 5% in real
estate.
Last week, Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (MFG, 8411.TO) said it
bought 3.07 million BlackRock shares for about $500 million, of
which 2.45 million shares were from a direct placement with Bank of
America that was separate from the share placement. The newly
acquired shares gave Mizuho a 1.6% stake in BlackRock.
Mizuho, Japan's second-largest bank by assets, also said it will
sign a business cooperation agreement with BlackRock to further
promote strategic cooperation between the two firms globally "with
particular emphasis on Japan and Asia to more effectively address
the investment needs of their respective clients," it said in a
statement.
Bank of America, which inherited its BlackRock stake from its
takeover of Merrill Lynch at the peak of the financial crisis, sold
51.24 million shares at $163 apiece, while PNC sold 7.5 million
shares at the same price. Bank of America owns 7.1% and PNC 20.3%
after the sale.
The offering will allow BlackRock to broaden its shareholder
base and have more control over its strategic direction.
Australian brokerage Macquarie Group Ltd. (MQBKY, MQG.AU)
upgraded BlackRock on Wednesday to outperform from neutral, saying
the asset manager may repurchase its stock, and could become part
of the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
BlackRock shares ended Thursday 0.13% at $169.15.
-By Amy Or and Anna Molin, Dow Jones Newswires, 212-416-3142;
amy.or@dowjones.com
-Erik Holm contributed to this article.
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