BlackRock just gobbled up Claymore Canada, as planned. In January BlackRock unveiled a deal to buy the business from Guggenheim Partners [see MFWire.com, 1/11/2012], and on Wednesday the two parties sealed the deal.

Money Management Executive reported on the news.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

As of January 31, Claymore Canada boasted C$7.4 billion in 34 ETFs and two closed-end funds, while the Canadian arm of BlackRock's iShares [profile] boasted C $29.0 billion in 48 ETFs as of December 31. BlackRock expects to rebrand most of the Claymore Canada products into iShares offerings.

The shareholders of the different Claymore Canada funds approved the deal on February 24 and March 6.

BlackRock Press Release

BlackRock Completes Acquisition of Claymore Investments

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Mar 07, 2012 -- BlackRock, Inc. today announced it has completed its acquisition of Claymore Investments, Inc. from Guggenheim Partners, LLC. As a subsidiary of BlackRock, Claymore will be integrated into the BlackRock organization and is expected to operate under the BlackRock name. It is also expected that most of the exchange-traded funds and closed end funds managed by Claymore will be rebranded to iShares(R). In connection with the closing of the transaction, the Independent Review Committee of the Canadian iShares funds will be appointed to act in the same capacity for the Claymore funds and the Claymore Advisory Board will not continue.

About BlackRock

BlackRock is a leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. At December 31, 2011, BlackRock's AUM was US $3.513 trillion. BlackRock offers products that span the risk spectrum to meet clients' needs, including active, enhanced and index strategies across markets and asset classes. Products are offered in a variety of structures including separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares(R) (exchange- traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles. BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions(R). Headquartered in New York City, as of December 31, 2011, the firm has approximately 10,100 employees in 27 countries and a major presence in key global markets, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East and Africa. For additional information, please visit the Company's website at www.blackrock.com .

About iShares ETFs

The iShares business is a global product leader in ETFs with over 460 funds globally across equities, fixed income and commodities, which trade on 19 exchanges worldwide. The iShares funds are attractive to many individual and institutional investors and financial intermediaries because of their relative low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell securities through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account. The iShares customer base consists of the institutional segment of pension plans and fund managers, as well as the retail segment of financial advisors and individual investors.

Announcement on the Claymore Canada Website

On January 11, 2012, Claymore Investments, Inc. (�Claymore�), the manager of the Claymore exchange traded funds, announced that BlackRock, Inc. (�BlackRock�) entered into a definitive agreement with subsidiaries of Guggenheim Partners, LLC (�Guggenheim�) to acquire all of Guggenheim�s interest in Claymore (the �Transaction�). The Transaction closed on March 7, 2012. As of March 7, 2012, Claymore is owned and controlled by BlackRock.

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor

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