Some companies with ties to the Dallas area are getting backing from BlackRock’s effort to assist communities of color.
Las Colinas’ Tricolor – with a majority-diverse employee base using tech to sell and finance used vehicles – has received financing from the BlackRock Impact Opportunities Fund, a $1 billion target. The company, which assists underserved Latino customers, operates about 50 dealerships In Texas, Arizona, California and Nevada.
This month, the fund partnered with Eastwood Capital Partners, a Black-owned sponsor, and Retro Fitness to develop up to 70 fitness franchises in the Dallas, Houston and Southeast Florida areas.
The investment is looking to make health and fitness more accessible to communities of color, helping address disparities in social determinants of health.
BlackRock said it has secured over $800 million in initial commitments toward its target for the fund. It’s begun to invest in businesses and projects owned, led by or serving people of color.
“Black, Latinx, and Native American people face a number of systemic barriers in accessing the market and acquiring the capital necessary to drive economic growth and wealth creation in their communities,” Edwin Conway, global head of BlackRock Alternative Investors, said in a statement. “The BlackRock Impact Opportunities Fund aspires to change the way institutional capital flows to communities of color and is just one step BlackRock is taking with our clients and partners to address this significant investment opportunity.”
The effort, launched in 2021, looks to uncover investment opportunities in undercapitalized companies and communities that are poised for growth. It’s making direct investments across private equity, private credit, infrastructure, real estate and other niche asset classes. The investments focus on housing, financial inclusion, education and digital connectivity.
State Farm, one of the largest employers in the Dallas area, is among the companies investing in the new BlackRock fund.
“To create collective wealth for these communities and our clients, we combine our singular impact objective – to improve economic outcomes for undercapitalized communities of color – with a flexible, multi-alternative investment approach,” Pam Chan, Chief Investment Officer and Global Head of BlackRock’s Alternative Solutions Group said in the statement. “In doing so, we seek to deliver differentiated returns alongside impact and show that investors can do well and do good.”
Tricolor said last year it received a $90 million convertible preferred equity investment from funds managed by BlackRock -- which converts to a minority stake.
