Merrill Lynch & Co Inc. reported that it has completed the merger of its asset management arm, Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, with BlackRock Inc.

Merrill Lynch received a total of 65 million common and preferred shares in the combined company and has a 45% voting interest. The new company will operate primarily under the BlackRock name.

BlackRock, one of the world’s largest publicly traded investment management companies, has approximately US$1 trillion in assets under management. Merrill Lynch boasts total client assets of approximately US$1.5 trillion.

Merrill also announced the addition of two directors to its board. Virgis Colbert, 66, retired executive vice president of worldwide operations for Miller Brewing Company, and Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas, 57, a member of the U.K. government’s Commission for Equality and Human Rights, have been elected to the company’s board of directors, effective October 1.

The company said that Colbert was named to the nominating and corporate governance committee of the board. Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas was named to the audit committee and the public policy and responsibility committee of the board.

“Both Virgis Colbert and Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas bring extensive international experience across a number of disciplines to the Merrill Lynch board,” said Stan O’Neal, chairman and chief executive officer. “Dame Judith is a respected leader in the legal, financial and cultural communities in London and is well known at Merrill Lynch as a former member of the company’s diversity and inclusion council. Virgis Colbert has many years of experience running operations in a diverse array of international markets at one of the leading consumer products businesses. We are extremely pleased to have them join the firm’s board.”