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Excess dread

Black Friday sales seem to kick off earlier and earlier each year. For way before any of us were eating our turkey, news came in of BlackRock’s acquisition of HPS, one of the biggest moves in the so-far short history of private credit.

The FT’s story came as no surprise, as it was revealed last month BlackRock was weighing a purchase of the private credit manager, but the final valuation is said to be closer to a $12bn valuation than the $10bn first mooted — not necessarily a discount.

It continues a private markets shopping spree the asset management giant is undertaking. In the summer, BlackRock completed the purchase of data analytics provider Preqin for £2.55 ($3.2bn). After conquering the public markets, it’s now quite the splash BlackRock is making into private markets.