BlackRock, an American multinational investment company, agreed to acquire Preqin, an independent provider of private markets data, for $3.2bn. "BlackRock’s vision has always been to bring together investments, technology, and data to offer solutions that meet our clients’ needs across their whole portfolio. As clients increasingly evolve their focus from choosing products to constructing portfolios, this shift requires technology, data, and analytics that create a ‘common language’ for investing across both public and private markets. We see data powering the industry across technology, capital formation, investing, and risk management," Rob Goldstein, BlackRock COO.