Press release from the Competition Council regarding the economic concentration project involving the exclusive takeover of the company “GLOBAL INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT, LLC” by the company “BLACKROCK FUNDING, INC” through the acquisition of 100% of the share capital and associated voting rights

In accordance with Article 13 of Law No. 104-12 on freedom of prices and competition and Article 10 of Decree No. 2-14-652 issued for its implementation as amended and supplemented, the Competition Council makes available to the public the below “operation summary” containing information provided by the parties.

This information has been prepared by the notifying parties, who are solely responsible. Any inaccurate or distorted information contained therein does not in any way prejudge the Competition Council’s position on the proposed operation.

The publication of this press release does not attest to the completeness of the file provided for in Article 9 of Decree No. 2-14-652 issued for the implementation of Law No. 104-12 on freedom of prices and competition as amended and supplemented.

Names of the companies and groups involved:

• The direct acquirer: the company “Blackrock Funding, Inc”;
• The target: the company “Global Infrastructure Management, LLC”.

Nature of the operation

– Exclusive control acquisition.

Economic sectors concerned

– Investment fund management for infrastructures.

Deadline for interested third parties to submit their observations

– 10 days from the date of publication of this press release, i.e., April 1, 2024.

NON-CONFIDENTIAL SUMMARY OF THE OPERATION PROVIDED BY THE PARTIES

The Competition Council has received notification of an economic concentration project whereby the company “BlackRock Funding, Inc.” will acquire exclusive control of the company “Global Infrastructure Management” through the acquisition of 100% of its shares and associated voting rights.

The proposed operation concerns the following companies:

• The company “BlackRock Funding, Inc.” is ultimately controlled exclusively by the company “BlackRock, Inc.”; and
• The company “Global Infrastructure Management” is currently 100% owned by the companies “Global Infrastructure Management Participation LLC” and “Global Infrastructure Management Participation 2 LLC”, with the ultimate beneficial owners of these entities being private individuals.

The commercial activities of the companies involved are as follows:

• The company “BlackRock Funding, Inc.” is a newly formed subsidiary of “BlackRock” with no independent activities. “BlackRock” is a publicly traded American company that provides investment management, risk management, and advisory services to institutional and retail clients worldwide. “BlackRock” manages assets for institutional and individual investors globally; and
• The company “Global Infrastructure Management” is an independent global infrastructure fund manager headquartered in New York, United States.

Done in Rabat on March 21, 2024.