MILAN (Reuters) – The board of Italy’s top insurer Generali has approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that paves the way for an asset management deal with BPCE’s Natixis Investment Managers to create a European champion, two sources close to the matter said.
Generali and BPCE have been discussing a tie-up to create a leading European fund manager at a time when the industry is under pressure to scale up to shield profit margins, fend off competition from U.S. rivals and sustain rising technology investments.
Earlier on Monday sources told Reuters, the boards of directors at Generali and BPCE were expected to give green lights to the tie-up, with a preliminary deal that could be announced as early as Tuesday.
(This story has been refiled to change ‘crate’ to ‘create’ in paragraph 1)
(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro; editing by Valentina Za and David Gregorio)
