BlackRock has acquired Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) in an $18.6 billion deal while a series of people moves has seen head of Australasia, Andrew Landman, promoted to deputy head of Asia Pacific.
The GIP deal for US$12.5 billion ($18.6 billion) will include $3 billion in cash and 12 million BlackRock shares, and focus on GIP’s infrastructure projects which include the Port of Melbourne, Port of Brisbane and Sydney Airport.
Founded in 2006, GIP has more than $100 billion in assets under management, and five of its founding partners will join BlackRock following the deal’s completion.
Meanwhile, the asset manager has made a series of people moves, including in the Asia-Pacific region.
In Australia, Landman was promoted from head of Australasia, a role he held since 2019, to deputy head of Asia Pacific, which will see his role expand to include Southeast Asia and Asia Pacific Wealth. He was previously the head of client business in Asia and has worked at BlackRock for 11 years.
Prior to joining BlackRock, he worked as the chief executive of asset manager Ascalon and spent five years each at Challenger and BT Funds Management.
He will share the deputy role with Hiroyuki Shimizu, who will look after BlackRock’s Asia-Pacific institutional business.
Susan Chan has been appointed as head of Asia Pacific, where she will be responsible for leading the Asia-Pacific region and overseeing the full range of business, client, investment and operational platforms serving wealth and institutional investors via BlackRock’s active, index, ETFs, alternatives and technology offerings.
Her previous roles at BlackRock, where she has worked for a decade, include head of Greater China and head of ETFs and index investing in Asia Pacific.
Chan said: “I am excited and honoured to lead the talent, ambition and excellence of BlackRock in Asia Pacific.
“My leadership team and I are sharply focused on accelerating the momentum in the region to achieve the best investment outcomes for our clients. This requires a thorough understanding of their needs, along with the ability to connect them to new and differentiated investment opportunities across our entire platform. Their success is our top priority.”
