Unicredit's Pioneer Investments may initiate exclusive talks on 22 November - reports
Unicredit’s [BIT:UCG] asset manager Pioneer Investments could enter into exclusive talks by tomorrow Tuesday (22 November), a newswire reported, citing a local press report.
According to Reuters, Amundi of France and PosteItaliane [BIT:PST], are the front-runners with offers amounting to EUR 3.2bn - EUR 3.5bn.
The report went on to say that Pioneer may share EUR 320m in extraordinary dividend prior to its sale.
Another newswire reported that Aberdeen Asset Management had withdrawn itself from UniCredit’s auction because it found the EUR 3.5bn price tag as too high. Aberdeen CEO Martin Gilbert told Bloomberg in an interview that the fund had gone into the second round before leaving the process.
Aberdeen is actively seeking a suitable target, Gilbert added.
Bidders for Pioneer, beside Amundi of France and Poste Italiane in alliance with Anima Holding [BIT:ANIM], and state-owned lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (Cdp), include the Australian financial conglomerate Macquarie [ASX: MQG] and Ameriprise Financial [NYSE: AMP] the report added, citing a source privy to the process.