Toronto-based Claymore is an independent Canadian subsidiary of Guggenheim Funds Services Group, a subsidiary of Guggenheim Partners, a US-based investment firm.
BlackRock manages 48 ETFs in Canada under the iShares brand, representing C$29bn in assets under management (AUM) as of 31 December 2011.
The transaction will add Claymore Canada’s 34 ETFs and two closed-end funds with C$7bn in AUM.
BlackRock head of iShares Canada Mary Wiley said that this combination of two great businesses will set a new standard for service delivery and product offerings in Canada. Without question this will enhance their ability to deliver excellence in innovation, quality and choice – attributes for which their iShares brand is known around the globe.
The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2012.
Terms of the all cash transaction, which will be neutral-to-modestly accretive to BlackRock’s 2012 earnings, were not disclosed.