UniCredit in exclusive talks to sell Pioneer to Amundi

Reuters
Unicredit bank logo is seen on a banner downtown Milan, Italy, May 23, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo

By Francesca Landini and Gianluca Semeraro

MILAN (Reuters) - UniCredit (CRDI.MI) entered exclusive talks with France's Amundi (AMUN.PA) to sell its asset management arm Pioneer Investments, Italy's biggest bank said, setting the scene for a deal that could be worth more than 3.5 billion euros (3 billion pound).

Amundi beat a consortium led by Italy's post office Poste Italiane (PST.MI) and a rival offer by Ameriprise Financial (AMP.N) by submitting the highest bid and offering the best contract to distribute Pioneer's financial products, two sources close to the matter said.

A third source said Amundi was prepared to pay more than 3.5 billion euros ($3.7 billion), although it was not clear whether this included a 325 million euro cash position held by Pioneer.

UniCredit is currently exploring asset sales under new Chief Executive Jean Pierre Mustier and is to detail a strategic plan on Dec. 13, which sources have said will include a share rights issue for up to 13 billion euros.

Sources told Reuters on Sunday that Amundi, which is advised by Mediobanca, was in the lead.

Pioneer is Europe's sixth-largest asset gatherer with assets under management of around 225 billion euros.

As investors around the world search for higher returns, asset gatherers have grown rapidly in recent years, making them an appealing target for banks and financial institutions.

State-controlled Poste Italiane said in a statement on Monday that sweetening its offer for Pioneer would not be in line with its return goals.

The conglomerate said it wanted to grow in the asset management sector regardless of negotiations over Pioneer and added it could pursue external growth opportunities together with smaller asset manager Anima Holding (ANIM.MI) which joined up with Poste in its failed offer.

Last month Poste and Anima signed an agreement to join forces, with the Italian post office pledging to give its asset management company BancoPosta Fondi SGR to Anima Holding, increasing its stake in Anima to up to 24.9 percent from the current 10.32 percent next year.

Anima and BancoPosta Fondi SGR will have approximately 145 billion euros in assets under management.

(Additional reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)