Unicredit has received seven expressions of interest in the Pioneer management company, but there are three potential buyers in pole position: Generali, the French group Amundi and the consortium led by Poste Italiane. This was reported by financial sources cited by the Reuters agency.
The operation, led by JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley, will come alive in the next few weeks, when Unicredit will make Pioneer's books available to the bidders, who will have to present the binding offers by the end of October.
Unicredit aims to raise up to 3 billion with the sale of Pioneer, which has 220 billion assets under management. CEO Jean-Pierre Mustier, appointed in July, will have to decide between an Italian or French operation.
Poste Italiane would be in a consortium with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and Anima. Among the other bidders are also the French Axa e Natixis, the Australian Macquaire, the German Allianz and the British asset management group Aberdeen.
Meanwhile, Fortress, Pimco and Cerberus have been admitted to the short list for the securitization of 20 billion Npl of Unicredit.
Based on this news, mid-morning the stock on the stock exchange of Unicredit gains 3,5%, to 2,108 euros per share.
