Generali and France's BPCE scrap plans to merge asset management units

By Gianluca ‌Semeraro

MILAN, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Italy's biggest insurer Generali and French bank ‍BPCE said ‌on Thursday they had dropped plans to merge their asset management ⁠businesses, in the absence of ‌conditions necessary to make the deal viable.

Generali in January signed a non-binding accord with BPCE to combine their asset management units - Generali Investment Holding (GIH) and Natixis Investment ⁠Managers - and create Europe's largest asset manager by revenue.

"While the work conducted together in ​recent months confirmed the merits and industrial value ‌of a partnership, Generali and BPCE ⁠have jointly taken the decision to terminate negotiations, concluding that the conditions to reach a final agreement are not currently present", the ​two companies said in a joint statement, without elaborating further.

The deal was opposed by the Italian government and two major Generali investors - Delfin, the Del Vecchio family's holding company, and construction tycoon Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone.

The ​two investors ‍recently consolidated their influence ​over the insurer by backing a takeover of Generali's biggest shareholder Mediobanca <MDBI.MI> by Tuscan lender Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena.

The government and the two shareholders were concerned that the Italian insurer would lose full control over how to allocate the savings of Italian citizens, sources said.

The ⁠deal would have required state approval under Italy's 'golden power' rules, which are designed to protect companies deemed ​of strategic national importance.

"Both groups maintain their commitment to the development of a thriving financial industry with globally competitive European champions contributing to the region's economic success," Generali and BPCE said.

Sources ‌told Reuters in October that Generali and BPCE were likely to abandon their plans. 

(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro, editing by Alvise Armellini and Gavin Jones)