(Reuters) – French company Natixis Investment Managers has started discussions with Italian insurer Generali over a potential merger, a source close to the matter told Reuters on Monday, confirming an earlier Financial Times report.
The two companies have not yet agreed on the conditions of a possible agreement and it is not certain that the discussions will be successful, indicates the financial daily in an article citing anonymous sources.
A source familiar with the matter confirmed to Reuters that Generali is engaged in discussions, at a very early stage, for a potential merger with Natixis IM.
Contacted by Reuters, Natixis’ parent company, BPCE, declined to comment on this information, as did Generali.
Natixis currently manages 1.2 trillion euros in assets, according to its website. A partnership with Generali, which reported €821 billion in assets under management in the first half, could create one of the largest fund managers in Europe.
In January, Reuters revealed that French group BPCE worked with Fenchurch Advisory and Rothschild & Co to informally gauge interest in its asset management arm Natixis Investment Managers.
BPCE has also approached some rivals like AXA, Deutsche Bank-backed DWS and Generali to merge their asset management businesses, Reuters previously reported.
In September, Natixis sold its European private debt specialist, MV Credit, to Californian investor Clearlake Capital.
(Reporting Gursimran Kaur in Bangalore, Mathieu Rosemain in Paris and Gianluca Semeraro in Milan; Florence Loève; edited by Augustin Turpin)
Copyright © 2024 Thomson Reuters
I have over 8 years of experience working in the news industry. I have worked as a reporter, editor, and now managing editor at 247 News Agency. I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the news website and overseeing all of the content that is published. I also write a column for the website, covering mostly market news.
