Who Owns Preqin?
Preqin is owned by BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK), the world's largest asset manager, which completed its acquisition of the London-based private markets data provider in March 2025 for approximately $3.2 billion. Founded in 2003, Preqin provides data, benchmarks, and research on private equity, venture capital, real estate, infrastructure, private debt, and hedge funds to more than 220,000 users worldwide.
Parent Company
Acquired
2025
Status
Publicly Traded
Headquarters
Preqin Timeline
Who Owns Preqin?
- Parent Company: BlackRock Inc.
- Ownership Type: Subsidiary
- Acquisition Year: 2025
- Company Type: Publicly Traded
- Stock Ticker: NYSE: BLK
| Brand | Parent Company | Ownership Type |
|---|---|---|
| Preqin | BlackRock Inc. | Subsidiary |
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History of Preqin
- Founded: 2003
- Founders: Mark O'Hare
- Acquired by BlackRock Inc.: 2025
Mark O'Hare founded Preqin in London in 2003, initially under the name Private Equity Intelligence, to fill a gap: institutional investors allocating to private equity had almost no reliable independent data on fund performance, fundraising, or benchmarks. The company built its dataset by systematically collecting fund-level information directly from general partners and limited partners, then selling subscription access.
Through the 2000s and 2010s Preqin expanded coverage from private equity into venture capital, real estate, infrastructure, private debt, natural resources, secondaries, and hedge funds, becoming the default data reference for the alternatives industry. Its quarterly benchmarks became standard citation material in fund documents and financial press. The company remained founder-owned and independent for two decades, growing to cover more than 210,000 funds and 220,000 users across asset managers, insurers, pensions, wealth managers, and banks.
BlackRock announced its acquisition in June 2024 as part of CEO Larry Fink's push to make BlackRock a whole-portfolio provider spanning public and private markets. The deal closed March 3, 2025, the first of three transformative private markets deals BlackRock completed in a 16-month span alongside Global Infrastructure Partners and HPS Investment Partners. O'Hare departed following the sale, and BlackRock began integrating Preqin data into Aladdin while maintaining the standalone subscription product.
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About BlackRock Inc.
What does BlackRock own?
BlackRock owns and operates several major financial platforms: iShares (the world's largest ETF provider), Aladdin (an investment management and risk technology platform), Global Infrastructure Partners (an infrastructure fund manager, acquired January 2025), HPS Investment Partners (a private credit manager, acquired July 2025), eFront (alternative investment software), and BlackRock Solutions (risk management and advisory services). BlackRock does not own the assets it manages; it manages them on behalf of clients including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and individual investors.
Is BlackRock publicly traded?
Yes. BlackRock Inc. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BLK. The company has been publicly traded since its IPO in 1999. BlackRock is a component of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 100 Index.
Who founded BlackRock?
BlackRock was founded in 1988 by seven partners: Larry Fink, Robert S. Kapito, Susan Wagner, Barbara Novick, Ben Golub, Hugh Frater, and Ralph Schlosstein. The company started within Blackstone Group with seed funding from Blackstone's founders and became independent in 1994 when PNC Financial Services Group acquired a stake.
Where is BlackRock headquartered?
BlackRock is headquartered at 50 Hudson Yards in New York City. The company operates in over 30 countries with major offices in London, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Frankfurt.
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How many brands does BlackRock own?
BlackRock operates six major brands and platforms: iShares, Aladdin, Global Infrastructure Partners, HPS Investment Partners, eFront, and BlackRock Solutions. The company uses the BlackRock corporate brand across its core investment management business while retaining the brand identities of acquired platforms like GIP and HPS.
Who owns BlackRock?
BlackRock has no parent company and no controlling shareholder. The company is owned by institutional investors and individual shareholders. The largest shareholders are Vanguard Group (approximately 9%), State Street Corporation (approximately 7%), and BlackRock employee compensation plans (approximately 5%). These institutional holders own shares on behalf of their own clients and beneficiaries.
What is BlackRock's AUM?
BlackRock had $11.6 trillion in assets under management at year-end 2024, following a record $641 billion in full-year net inflows. As of mid-2026, AUM exceeded $12 trillion. The growth was driven by secular trends in passive investing, market appreciation, and strong net inflows across ETFs, active strategies, and private markets.
What did BlackRock acquire in 2025?
BlackRock completed two major acquisitions in 2025. In January 2025, the company completed its acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a leading infrastructure fund manager, for approximately $12.5 billion. In July 2025, BlackRock completed its acquisition of HPS Investment Partners, a private credit manager with approximately $148 billion in client assets, for approximately $12 billion in stock. Both acquisitions significantly expanded BlackRock's private markets capabilities.
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- Founded: 1988
- Headquarters: New York City, New York, USA
- Company Type: Publicly Traded
- Stock: NYSE: BLK
- Revenue: $24.2 billion (FY2025)
- Employees: ~24,900
Where Is Preqin Made / Based?
- Headquarters: London, England, United Kingdom
Preqin Categories & Tags
Brands Owned by BlackRock Inc.
Finance FintechAladdin
Owned by BlackRock Inc.
Comprehensive investment management technology platform developed by BlackRock, providing portfolio management, risk analytics, and trading solutions for institutional investors and asset managers.
investment-technologyportfolio-managementrisk-analytics
Finance FintechiShares
Owned by BlackRock Inc.
Exchange-traded fund brand owned by BlackRock, offering over 1,400 ETFs covering stocks, bonds, commodities, and ESG strategies with approximately $4 trillion in assets under management.
etfexchange-traded-fundsinvestment
Preqin Ownership: Pros & Cons
Advantages
- +Integration into Aladdin expands distribution to BlackRock's institutional base
- +Financial backing of a $14 trillion AUM parent
- +Complements BlackRock's private markets buildout with GIP and HPS
- +Highly recurring subscription revenue model
- +Two decades of proprietary fund data creates a deep moat
Considerations
- -Neutrality concerns as a subsidiary of a competing asset manager
- -PitchBook and MSCI compete aggressively on data coverage
- -Integration risk if the standalone product loses independent credibility
- -Private markets data demand tracks fundraising cycles
- -Key-person and founder transition post-acquisition
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Frequently Asked Questions About Preqin
Sources & Further Reading
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Competitors to Preqin
No direct competitors found in the same category. This could be because Preqinoperates in a unique market segment or we're still building our competitor database.
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Independent Alternatives to Preqin
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Barings is privately owned, unlike Preqin which is under a publicly traded parent company.
Finance FintechBloomberg Terminal
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Industry-standard financial data and analytics platform used by approximately 325,000 subscribers at banks, hedge funds, and institutional investors worldwide.
financial-datamarket-dataanalytics
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Bloomberg Terminal is privately owned, unlike Preqin which is under a publicly traded parent company.
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Bybit is privately owned, unlike Preqin which is under a publicly traded parent company.
Finance FintechCVC Capital Partners
Owned by CVC Capital Partners plc
Global private markets investment brand managing 205 billion euros across private equity, credit, secondaries, and infrastructure funds.
private-equityprivate-marketsasset-management
Privately Owned
CVC Capital Partners is privately owned, unlike Preqin which is under a publicly traded parent company.
Finance FintechKalshi
Owned by Kalshi Inc.
CFTC-regulated prediction market exchange where users trade contracts on real-world events, valued near $40 billion in late 2026 funding talks.
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Privately Owned
Kalshi is privately owned, unlike Preqin which is under a publicly traded parent company.
Finance FintechMastercard
Owned by Mastercard Incorporated
Flagship card brand and payment network of Mastercard Incorporated, the world's second-largest payment network, covering credit, debit, and prepaid cards globally.
credit-cardspayment-networkdebit-cards
Publicly Traded
Mastercard operates independently without a large parent corporation.
BlackRock Inc. Stock Information
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