Barclays Global Investors was formed in 1996 when Barclays
bought Wells Fargo Nikko Advisers and integrated that
business with BZW Investment Management.
It introduced the first passive index strategy in 1971 and
the first quantitative strategy in 1977. In 1996 -- three
years after State Street launched the first ETF -- BGI
teamed with Morgan Stanley to launch the World Equity
Benchmark Shares (WEBS), which track the indexes of
Morgan Stanley Capital Management. The WEBS funds were rechristened
"iShares MSCI" funds in May 2000.
In mid-March of 2009, reports surfaced that Barclays hired UK investment
bank J.P. Morgan Cazenove to help find a buyer for BGI's iShares
business, which is led by Lee Kranefuss. On March 31, Barclays said
private equity firm CVC Capital Partners was its preferred bidder and
on April 9, Barclays inked a deal to sell iShares to Blue Sparkle LP,
a new limited partnership created by CVC, for $4.4 billion. Under the agreement,
Barclays may solicit proposals for iShares and other related businesses
from third parties until June 19.
On June 11, Barclays agreed to sell the whole of BGI, not just iShares,
to BlackRock in a cash and stock transaction valued at about $13.5 billion. The deal closed on December 1, 2009.
Sponsored Opportunities
Key People:
Michael Latham Global Head, iShares, Barclays Global Investors
Blake R. Grossman Vice Chairman, Head of Scientific Equities, BlackRock, Barclays Global Investors Services
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