China Investment Corphas sold most of its stake in BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, as part of a wider strategy by the sovereign wealth to cut its holdings in global financial institutions.
CIC bought 3 per cent of BlackRock’s shares, worth about $1bn, when the asset manager agreed to buy Barclays Global Investorsin 2009. CIC has gradually sold its BlackRock shares, generating profits on those sales, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The shares were acquired at a discount to BlackRock’s then trading price of $178.50. BlackRock’s shares have traded at $209.4 in the past 12 months. They closed at $176.4 on Friday.