Reports: UniCredit, Banco Santander In Talks To Combine Asset Management Units

(RTTNews) - Italian banking giant UniCredit SpA (UNCFF) and Spanish commercial bank Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN, BNC.L) is in final stage talks to combine their asset management units, according to media reports on Monday.

The deal to combine UniCredit's Pioneer Investments unit with Santander Asset Management is expected to win approval at a UniCredit board meeting later in the week. The companies are expected to announce the deal as early as next week.

The combined entity, which will be Europe's largest asset manager with more than 350 billion euros of assets under management, will be equally held and jointly controlled by UniCredit and Banco Santander.

Meanwhile, private-equity firms Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic, which acquired a 50 percent stake in Santander Asset Management last year, will reportedly together own a remaining less than a third of the entity.

Several European banks are in the process of selling or sold off their asset management businesses in order to strengthen their balance sheet and fall in line with the tighter regulatory requirement. Some of the other banks are Lloyds Banking Group plc (LYG) and French lender Societe Generale SA (SCGLF, SCGLY).

Meanwhile, UniCredit spun off 34.5 percent of Fineco, its online consumer finance bank, through an initial public offering earlier in the year, and later sold off its 81.4 percent stake in German online broker DAB Bank AG to French lender BNP Paribas (BNPQY, BNP.L).

It is now planning to sell its debt collection business for about 700 million to 800 million euros. The sale of assets is part of UniCredit's larger strategic plan announced in March to boost capital base, and triple profits by 2018.

SAN closed Monday's regular trading session at $9.85, down $0.06 or 0.61% on a volume of 6.29 million shares.

In Madrid, Banco Santander shares closed at 7.72 euros, down 0.03 euros or 0.44% on a volume of 62.06 million shares.

On the Milan Stock Exchange, UniCredit shares closed at 6.26 euros, down 0.04 euros or 0.63% on a volume of 45.98 million shares.