Italian insurer Generali has abandoned plans to create a joint venture with Natixis Investment Managers that would have made it Europe’s second-largest asset manager, with over €1.9trn in assets under management (AUM).
Generali and French banking group BPCE, which owns Natixis IM, said yesterday in a statement that negotiations to establish the joint venture had been terminated because the “conditions to reach a final agreement are not currently present”.
The Italian insurer added that work conducted in recent months confirmed the merits and industrial value of a partnership.
Generali and BPCE had held “extensive discussions” with stakeholders to combine their asset management operations, ultimately failing to reach a final agreement following a non-binding memorandum of understanding signed in January.
Plans were likely abandoned despite an agreement to finalise the deal by the end of December, after amended terms removed a €50m break-up fee, Reuters reported in October.
The Italian government, led by Giorgia Meloni, opposed the combination over concerns about the country’s savings and Generali’s position as a major holder of Italian sovereign debt, according to the FT.
Generali shareholders, including holding company Delfin and construction group Caltagirone, also opposed the tie-up.
Italian newspaper Sole24Ore reported that Generali could pursue a ‘plan B’ with local partners, such as the asset management arm of Intesa Sanpaolo, Eurizon, or Anima, to create a domestic asset management hub rather than a European tie-up.
Europe’s asset management sector is in a consolidation phase, with continental managers seeking to remain competitive against global peers, particularly those in the US.
Generali Investments has been strengthening its asset management and private credit operations globally, including a majority stake acquisition in the US-based MGG Investment Group.
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