The combined entity will have equal ownership, with each party holding 50% and sharing governance and control.

Italy's Generali and France's BPCE said on Tuesday they had taken the first step towards creating Europe's largest asset manager by revenue as the industry bets on size to protect profit margins. The

MILAN (Reuters) -Generali and France's BPCE said on Tuesday they had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) to combine their asset management operations aiming to create Europe's largest player by revenues.

Italy’s Generali and the owner of France’s Natixis are set to combine their asset management operations to create a European giant overlooking 1.9 trillion euros ($1.979 trillion) in assets.The Italian insurer and French retail bank Groupe BPCE signed a preliminary deal underpinned by 15-year contracts to form a joint venture they will each own a 50% of.

PRESS RELEASE BPCE and Generali to Create the Largest Asset Manager in Europe by revenues and a Major Player Worldwide Milan & Paris, 2125 – Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. (“Generali”) and BPCE today announce that they have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) to create a joint venture between their respective asset management operations Generali Investments Holding (“GIH”)1 and Natixis Investment Managers (“Natixis IM”).

The board of Italy's top insurer Generali has approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that paves the way for an asset management deal with BPCE's Natixis Investment Managers to crate a European champion,

With €1.9tn in AUM, the joint venture would allow the pair to expand globally and speed up a push into private markets.

Natixis Investment Managers is set to merge with the asset management arm of Italian insurer Generali, creating the largest European asset manager by revenue.

The boards of directors at Italian insurer Generali and French banking group BPCE are likely to give green lights on Monday to a tie-up of their asset management businesses, three sources close to the matter said.