(Reuters) -BlackRock has agreed to buy UK data firm Preqin for 2.55 billion pounds ($3.23 billion) in cash in an expansion by the world's biggest asset management company into the private markets data segment.

BlackRock said in a statement that the acquisition would complement its Aladdin tech business by bringing together data, research, and investment process for fund managers.

Aladdin is BlackRock's portfolio management software which provides investment professionals a way to view and manage daily investments.

Preqin will also continue to be offered as a standalone solution, the company said.

Preqin is expected to generate about $240 million of recurring revenue in 2024 and has grown approximately 20% per year in the last three years, BlackRock said in its statement.

Preqin, which was founded in 2003, specialises in data about the alternative investment industry. The UK-based company has subscribers in more than 90 countries, according to the British government's register of companies.

Reuters reported in early June that the London Stock Exchange Group and S&P Global were among potential bidders for Preqin.

Its founder Mark O'Hare will join BlackRock as a vice chair after the close of the transaction.

The Financial Times earlier reported on the deal.

"Together with Preqin, we can make private markets investing easier and more accessible while building a better-connected platform for investors and fund managers..," said Sudhir Nair, global head of BlackRock's Aladdin.

($1 = 0.7903 pounds)

(Reporting by Surbhi Misra and Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Porter, Leslie Adler and Muralikumar Anantharaman)