PARIS (Reuters) – Europe’s largest asset manager Amundi announced on Tuesday its largest transaction ever in the United States with the sale of its activities in the country to Victory Capital in exchange for a stake of 26 .1% in the American manager.

The operation, which aims to strengthen Amundi’s presence in the world’s largest financial market, will allow the group to have a greater number of dollar-denominated management expertise to offer to its clients.

In return, Victory Capital gains the opportunity to expand its capabilities to distribute its products outside the United States, with the agreement being accompanied by reciprocal international distribution agreements lasting 15 years.

“This is the largest transaction we are doing in the United States,” CEO Valérie Baudson said in a press conference.

Amundi, which did not disclose the implied value of Victory Capital’s equity generated by the transaction, said the transaction does not involve any cash payment.

As the new reference shareholder of Victory Capital, Amundi will have representatives on the board of directors of the American asset manager.

“The planned transaction with Victory Capital is a unique opportunity to strengthen our presence in the United States, while becoming a strategic shareholder of a reputable American asset management company,” said Valérie Baudson, Managing Director of Amundi, in a press release.

Amundi’s US division manages $104 billion in assets, or less than 5% of Amundi’s total assets of €2,000 billion.

In a presentation to investors, Amundi indicates that it has estimated with Victory Capital the annual savings generated by their partnership at around $100 million in the two years following the conclusion of the operation.

According to the group, the combined entity would generate annual revenues of approximately $1.2 billion and adjusted net income of approximately $400 million before synergies.

On the Paris Stock Exchange, around 08:40 GMT, Amundi lost 1.4% to 63.05 euros in a bearish environment, the SBF120 falling 1.3% at the same time.

“We believe the combination should highlight the value of Amundi’s US operations to investors,” JP Morgan analysts said in a note, adding that the partnership should strengthen Amundi’s position in the US, as well as as its position as a global leader in the asset manager sector.

They estimate that the operation should allow Amundi to increase its earnings per share by around 5% by 2026.

Victory Capital, a diversified asset management group based in the United States, has a market capitalization of approximately $2.7 billion (€2.54 billion) and manages $175 billion in assets under management.

(Report Sudip Kar-Gupta and Mathieu Rosemain, written by Augustin Turpin, edited by Blandine Hénault)

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