BlackRock wins renewed permission to own big utility stakes

April 17 (Reuters) - U.S. federal energy regulators on Thursday gave BlackRock BLK.N renewed permission to own major stakes of public utility companies, a win for the world's top asset manager over concerns that it wields too much influence.

The decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission included a concurring opinion by Mark Christie, its Republican Chairman. He wrote that while he shares concerns about BlackRock's market power, public utilities need access to the capital controlled by large asset managers.