Generali and Natixis in Early Talks for Asset Management Tie-Up, Source Says

France’s Natixis Investment Managers is holding early-stage talks with Italian insurer Generali GASI.MIabout a potential tie-up, a person with knowledge of the situation said, in a deal that could create one of the largest fund managers in Europe.

The firms have not yet agreed to the terms of a deal, and it remains uncertain whether the talks will lead to an agreement, according to the Financial Times, which was the first to report the news.

A spokesperson for BPCE, the parent company of Natixis, declined to comment on market rumors. Generali declined to comment on the FT report.

Natixis currently manages $1.3 trillion in assets, according according to its website, while Generali reported 821 billion euros ($863.86 billion) in managed assets for the first half of the year. A tie-up could lead to the creation of one of Europe’s biggest fund managers.

The French lender had been working with Fenchurch Advisory and Rothschild & Co to informally gauge interest in its money management arm Natixis Investment Managers, Reuters reported in January, citing sources.

BPCE had also approached rivals including AXA, Deutsche Bank-backed DWS and Generali over merging their asset management operations, according to a previous Reuters report.

Reuters also reported last month that Germany’s Allianz was exploring options for its Allianz Global Investors unit, which, according to its website, oversees 560 billion euros in assets.

In September, Natixis sold its pan-European private credit specialist MV Credit to California-based investor Clearlake Capital.

($1 = 0.9534 euros)

(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro, Gursimran Kaur and Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Arun Koyyur, Tasim Zahid and Anil D’Silva)