BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) is selling $2.5 billion in U.S. investment-grade bonds to help pay for its $3.2 billion acquisition of private-markets data company Preqin. What Happened: According to Bloomberg, citing an anonymous source, BlackRock Funding plans to sell the notes in three tranches. The longest part of the deal matures in 30 years. It expects to yield one percentage point above Treasuries. BlackRock did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment on the reported transaction. BlackRock agreed to acquire London-based Preqin as part of an effort to grow its presence in private-markets investing. In January, the firm spent ...