BlackRock revealed Tuesday that Barclays has accepted in writing the offer to acquire BGI. Barclays indicated that its Board will recommend the transaction to shareholders at a meeting scheduled to be held in early August. The deal is expected to close in Q4 2009, following shareholder approval, regulatory nods and completion of closing conditions. Barclays accepted the deal following the satisfaction of a required "go-shop" arrangement regarding previous offers such as Vanguard’s bid for iShares (see The MFWire, 6/15/09).

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PRESS RELEASE

Barclays Accepts BlackRock Offer to Acquire BGI

NEW YORK, June 16, 2009 - BlackRock, Inc. announced today that it has received written notice from Barclays PLC (“Barclays”) that Barclays’ Board of Directors has accepted BlackRock’s offer to acquire Barclays Global Investors (“BGI”). Barclays also notified BlackRock that its Board will recommend the transaction to Barclays’ shareholders for approval at a special meeting to be held in early August 2009.

Barclays’ acceptance of BlackRock’s offer followed satisfaction of the provisions required under a “go-shop” arrangement with respect to an offer previously received by Barclays for iShares, BGI’s ETF platform. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter 2009 following approval by Barclays’ shareholders, the receipt of client consents and regulatory approvals, and satisfaction of customary closing conditions. 

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