Deal marks BlackRock39;s third major acquisition in 2024
HPS was carved out of JPMorgan in 2016
Private credit has grown rapidly in recent years

Dec 3 Reuters BlackRock will buy private credit firm HPS Investment Partners for about 12 billion in an allstock deal, the companies said on Tuesday, as the world39;s largest asset manager seeks to expand in a redhot market.

Private credit, or lending to companies by institutions other than banks, has grown rapidly in recent years as stricter regulations made it more expensive for traditional lenders to finance riskier loans.

The asset class is expected to grow to 2.6 trillion by 2029 from 1.5 trillion at the end of 2023, according to Preqin data.

Together we will deliver income solutions for our clients that blend both the best of the public markets and the best of the private markets in an organized, unified fashion, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said on Tuesday.

He has previously outlined private credit to be a primary growth driver within alternatives for BlackRock in coming years.

HPS was founded in 2007 as a division of Highbridge Capital Management, the hedge fund unit of JPMorgan39;s asset management arm. In 2016, top HPS executives acquired the firm from JPMorgan.

Since then, the New Yorkbased company has become a massive private credit player, with assets under management vaulting to about 148 billion as of September from 34 billion in 2016.

BlackRock, which manages 11.5 trillion in assets, has an existing 85…