Amundi to buy UniCredit's Pioneer Investments for €3.55bn

France’s Amundi has agreed to buy UniCredit’s asset management unit, Pioneer Investments, for €3.55bn in cash.

As part of the deal – which will create the eighth largest asset manager globally – Amundi will form a long-term strategic partnership with UniCredit for the distribution of asset management products.

Amundi said the acquisition will allow the company to reinforce its leadership in key European markets, as the combined group will be the number one entity in France and top three in Italy and Austria, with a strong position in Germany.

In addition, it will bolster Amundi’s leadership in serving retail networks and improve its customer mix by increasing the weight of higher-margin retail customers from 27% currently to 35% post transaction.

The partnership with UniCredit, secured by a 10-year distribution agreement for Italy, Germany and Austria, will allow Amundi to further strengthen its position of preferred provider of savings solutions to retail clients in Europe.

Meanwhile, UniCredit networks will benefit from Amundi’s expertise of combining an industrial platform with tailor-made and local approaches, so as to maximise value for both partners.

Xavier Musca, chairman of the board of directors of Amundi, said “This acquisition is fully in line with the selective acquisition strategy announced at the time of the IPO: Pioneer Investments will reinforce Amundi’s product expertise, broaden its distribution channels and networks, and generate significant synergies. It confirms Amundi’s position as a clear European leader in asset management, in terms of size and profitability."