Spanish bank Santander has agreed to buy a stake of up to 50% in Italian bank Unicredit’s asset management division Pioneer Investments.
The deal, which is subject to approval of the bank’s board, will see Banco Santander merging its asset management unit Pioneer Investments with Santander Asset Management.
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Under the agreement, Banco Santander and UniCredit will have an equal share in the new entity and will jointly manage it.
The deal may value Pioneer between EUR2 billion ($2.6 billion) to EUR3 billion and is expected to create a fund manager with more than EUR300 billion in assets under management.
Santander is expected to be finalized as soon as next week. Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic have acquired a 50% stake in Santander Asset Management last year in a deal worth EUR2.05 billion.
Other bidders for Pioneer were private equity funds CVC Capital Partners, Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC and Advent International.
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By GlobalDataThe deal with Banco Santander will provide Pioneer access its distribution channels which will complement UniCredit’s network.
"They were the last one to enter the auction and now they’re very hot on this deal. Their plan is to merge their existing asset management operations with Pioneer," sources said.
