The deal, which values the new group at around €5.4bn (£3.9bn, $5.8bn), will create a holding company to be named Pioneer Investments, which will have combined assets under management of about €400bn – making it one of Europe’s biggest asset managers.
Under the terms of the deal, UniCredit will own 50% of the new firm with private equity firms Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic owning the other half of the holding company, which will in turn own 100% of Pioneer’s US business.
For the businesses outside of the US, Pioneer will have a 66.7% ownership in the holding company and Santander will have a 33.3% stake.
The combined firm will continue to operate as one global entity, led by a single global management team, the firms said.
Juan Alcaraz, current chief executive of Santander Asset Management, will be the global CEO. Giordano Lombardo, current CEO and group chief investment officer of Pioneer Investments will be the global CIO of the new company.
Pioneer and Santander will bring complementary platforms, investment capabilities, and client relationships, resulting in a more complete range of solutions and services to the benefit of all clients, the firms said.
The combined company would have operations in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
In Asia-Pacific, Pioneer Investments is headquartered in Singapore and has offices in China, Taiwan, Australia and Japan.
