According to people close to the matter, three bidders are still in the running to pick up Italian UniCredit's asset manager Pioneer, with Ameriprise Financial and Italy’s national post office vying for position and France's Amundi submitting the biggest bid yet.
Australia’s specialist investment banking and financial services group Macquarie put in the least attractive offer and now has little hope of winning, said the sources.
Other entities that took part in previous bidding rounds have criticised UniCredit for holding out for an unrealistic price of around $4 billion, but sources say there are other factors involved in the deal that balance that out.
The disposals come as Italy’s largest lender finds its capital well overstretched. The company are also on the brink of a potentially expensive legal battle over a rights issue, and the outcome of that could depend on how much cash it nets from Pioneer’s sale.
“We’ve seen in recent years that these kinds of asset gathering units are very attractive targets for financial institutions,” said Anthony Russell, Senior Vice President at Monex BMO Securities in an email to clients. “Investors are simply looking for better returns and asset managers are very good at doing this, leading to rapid growth. With the financial wealth of Italian households totalling around $4 trillion it makes the country very fertile ground.”
The sources went on to say that UniCredit would take its time deciding on a buyer and the media shouldn’t expect any more information until at least the middle of next month. A constitutional referendum is slated for early December which could also affect matters.
None of the financial institutions involved were available for comment on the deal.
Pioneer has been in the top ten of asset managers in Europe for years and currently has in the region of 230 billion euros under its scope.
Recent government data has revealed that only 29 percent of Italian wealth excluding property is invested with asset management firms making the country a below average investment nation compared to the rest of the financial bloc.
