Craig S. Phillips, managing director and global head of thefinancial markets advisory group in BlackRock Solutions, says hiscompany is looking to integrate Helix's 120 professionals intoBlackRock Solutions' modeling, advisory, valuation and loan workoutpractice. "In addition to valuable industry relationships and assetclass experience, Helix has unique technology, data andintellectual capital that will supplement our present commercialreal estate analytics and workout capabilities," he says.

In a separate release from Dallas-based Allbridge Investments,which acquired Helix in 2008, managing partner Larry Brown says hisfirm acquired Helix "at a time of unprecedented distress in themortgage markets and provided the firm with both the criticaleconomic stability, as well as the additional technical resourcesnecessary to help position the company into the attractive assetBlackRock has sought." He adds that the acquisition by BlackRockprovides Helix's management team and their credit analytics andunderwriting products with "new avenues for growth."

For his part, Phillips says "AllBridge was integral to therepositioning of the Helix platform" and that BlackRock looksforward to "an important client relationship" with Allbridge. Helixwill continue to provide advisory, credit and underwriting supportto AllBridge following the acquisition, according to BlackRock.