Add to BlackRock's resume of fixed-income, hedge fund and private equity the hulking Merrill Lynch Investment Managers is making it the world's largest asset management firm with $1 trillion AUM. Under terms of the deal, BlackRock will take on the ML business in exchange for Merrill Lynch getting a 49.8% of the new company, which will operate under the BlackRock name. ML will also receive a 45%% voting interest in the new entity, the deal for which is expected to close in the third quarter. Incidentally, BlackRock's flagship hedge fund didn't exactly rock last year; the Obsidian Fund ended 2005 up 3%, but in a trillion-dollar company, will anyone notice?