ITALY – Milan based asset management firms, Pioneer Investments and Rolo Pioneer are to merge, forming a fund management group with some €36bn under management, as well as a combined Luxembourg-based fund operation worth €32.5bn.

A spokesman for Pioneer says that the merger is the first step in a plan that will see Rolo Pioneer rebranded under the Pioneer moniker.

The move is part of the restructuring programme announced last December by banking group, UniCredito, Pioneer’s parent company, in which UniCredito initiated a share swap deal with rival bank, Rolo Banca, which owns Rolo Pioneer. The deal left UniCredito with 51% of Rolo Banca’s shareholding.

The Luxembourg operation is likely to be merged as soon as the deal is finalised, but no decisions have been taken about how the Italian based funds and their management will be organised, says the spokesman.

No formal timetable for the merger has been set, but if it receives regulatory approval, Pioneer expects it to be completed by the end of the year.

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