Activist: BlackRock Has Power to Influence (Updated)

Editor's note: This column has been updated since its original publication June 17. A correction also has been published for one section of the column.

BlackRock's(BLK Quote) announcement last week that it would purchase Barclays Global Investors from U.K. bank Barclays(BCS Quote) for $13.5 billion confirmed that BlackRock would yield an enormous influence on corporate America.

In fact, the combined firm will own $2.8 trillion in assets, twice the size of its nearest rivals State Street (STT Quote) and Fidelity, which hold $1.4 trillion in assets each.

If you've looked up recently the shareholder ownership tables for any large or small public company, you likely have seen BGI's name among the top five holders of the stock. You've also likely seen BlackRock's name in the top 10. And, with this deal, you will now almost certainly see the new BGI (BlackRock Global Investors) in the list of top three or four shareholders. ...