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

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

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.

Under the terms of the tie-up, BPCE and Generali Investments will combine their asset management operations in a 50-50 joint venture, people familiar with the situation said. A non-binding preliminary agreement could be reached as early as next week. It would still need to be approved by the relevant unions and authorities.

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.

Generali and BPCE have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create a joint venture between their respective asset management