BlackRock to pay 3 bln in cash and roughly 12 mln in shares
Cohen new chief product officer, GIP39;s Ogunlesi to join board
BlackRock had been on the hunt for big acquisition
Quarterly profit 9.66 per share vs forecast 8.84

NEW YORKLONDON, Jan 12 Reuters BlackRock said on Friday it would buy Global Infrastructure Partners GIP for 12.5 billion in a major bet on alternative assets and announced a shakeup of its top management.

The deal 3 billion in cash and 12 million BlackRock shares will make the asset management giant one of the biggest players in alternative assets with a combined 150 billion in assets and private markets.

BlackRock, which manages 10 trillion across all markets, has been on the hunt for what it hopes will be a transformative deal, with Chief Executive Larry Fink last year telling analysts that it was engaged in more deal talks than it had been in many, many years.

The company has a track record of adding assets in order to bolster growth and diversify during periods of market weakness.

Founded in 2006, GIP manages more than 100 billion in assets and has a portfolio including Britain39;s Gatwick airport, the Port of Melbourne and major offshore wind projects.

Infrastructure is one of the most exciting longterm investment opportunities, as a number of structural shifts reshape the global economy, said Fink.

Bringing these two firms together will create the infrastructure platform to deliver bestinclass investment opportunities for clients…