Amundi buys Pioneer from Unicredit for €3.5bn

According to a statement, the transaction saw Amundi acquire Pioneer for €3.5bn, which includes €1.5bn in excess capital and a €1.4bn capital increase. Moreover, the GP issued €600m of senior and subordinated debt underwritten by Crédit Agricole Group. The deal excluded Pioneer's Poland-based operations and is expected to close during the first half of 2017.

As part of the deal, Unicredit will also receive a €315m extraordinary dividend from Pioneer, prior to the transaction. According to a statement, the transaction will generate a €2.2bn net capital gain for Unicredit in 2017, with an expected positive impact on its fully loaded Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 78 basis points.

Following the acquisition, Unicredit and Amundi will enter a partnership for the distribution of asset management products underpinned by a 10-year distribution agreement for the Italian, German and Austrian markets.

Amundi aims to reinforce its position across the European market.

Company
Pioneer Investments is an asset management platform with a presence in 28 countries and employs 2,000 people.

Currently, the firm manages €222bn in assets, split between Unicredit's proprietary distribution as well as intermediary and institutional clients.

In a statement, the company claims it generated €875m in revenues in 2015, with €327m EBITDA.

People
Amundi – Yves Perrier (CEO).
Unicredit – Jean Pierre Mustier (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Goldman Sachs International (M&A); Mediobanca (corporate finance); Crédit Agricole CIB (corporate finance); Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (legal); Veil Jourde (legal).
Vendor – JP Morgan (corporate finance); Morgan Stanley (corporate finance); Unicredit Corporate & Investment Banking (corporate finance); Studio Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners (legal).

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Buyouts
• Financials
• Southern Europe
• UniCredit
• Amundi Private Equity
• Italy