New agreement between Unicredit and Azimut. UniCredit has signed a letter of intent with Azimut for a commercial partnership on the distribution in Italy of new asset management products. Thanks to the agreement, explains a note distributed to journalists on the occasion of a press conference with CEO Andrea Orcel, "UniCredit will further expand its activities along the value chain and strengthen its commitment to offer the best products to its 7 million of customers in Italy".
Unicredit will also be able to "extend its offer, including the potential distribution of its banking products to Azimut, and underlines the strategic objective of giving greater value and dimension to its asset management business, for the benefit of customers".
Unicredit: what the agreement with Azimut provides
Azimuth will independently set up and manage a management company (Sgr) in Ireland which will develop investment products to be distributed in Italy through the UniCredit network on a non-exclusive basis. The launch of the funds for Italian clients is scheduled for second half of the 2023, subject to necessary regulatory approvals.
According to the implementation agreements that will be signed by the parties, UniCredit will have the right to exercise a call option on the newly incorporated Irish asset management company, wholly owned by Azimut, in five years or sooner, depending on the specific circumstances, as usual in this type of transaction. In case of exercise ofcall option, UniCredit will be able to count on its own high-value products factory which will add to the onemarkets Fund platform and other asset management entities already part of the Group, selectively rebuilding components of the asset management value chain in Italy and in the Group.
“This is an important step in our strategy – says the CEO of Unicredit Andrea Orcell – aimed at building and expanding the partner ecosystem to better serve the needs of customers. Not only will it allow us to expand and improve the offer to clients, but it also demonstrates our commitment to strengthening the asset management industry in Italy. As a bank, we constantly aim to generate added value for our stakeholders, while supporting the markets in which we operate – in this case the national asset management market”.
