Merrill and BlackRock, a done deal

Announced early this morning, Merrill Lynch Investment Management and BlackRock will join forces.

In an email to employees of BlackRock:

The merger is expected to close in the third quarter of 2006 and will add considerably to our product offerings. BlackRock and MLIM have highly complementary franchises across asset classes, products, distribution channels, and geographic locations. On a combined basis, the new company will manage $286 billion in equity/balanced, $415 billion in fixed income, $208 billion in liquidity, $38 billion in alternative and real estate investments, and $44 billion in retail separately managed accounts. The combined company will offer a broad suite of investment products and solutions designed to meet the needs of both retail and institutional clients in the U.S. and in non-U.S. markets. In addition, through BlackRock Solutions, BlackRockÂ’s proprietary trading and risk systems are used by clients to manage portfolios valued at over $3 trillion and to provide investment accounting services for over $50 billion in assets.

Don't expect this combo team to rock the investment world, though. Merrill sheds itself of an organization with marketing problems so severe that even a name change couldn't fix. And BlackRock gains a healthy chunk of assets to manage. But for the investing public, it's just an interesting story.