Italy's Generali and France's BPCE said on Tuesday they had taken the first step towards creating Europe's largest asset manager by revenue as the industry bets on size to protect profit margins. The

Italy’s Generali and the owner of France’s Natixis are set to combine their asset management operations to create a European giant overlooking 1.9 trillion euros ($1.979 trillion) in assets.The Italian insurer and French retail bank Groupe BPCE signed a preliminary deal underpinned by 15-year contracts to form a joint venture they will each own a 50% of.

Last week, Generali said it would acquire a 77% majority stake in U.S. private credit firm MGG Investment Group in a $320 million deal. Generali subsidiary Conning & Co. will take majority control of the $6 billion firm, which specializes in senior secured loans and structured capital solutions for U.S. middle-market businesses.

The board of Italy's top insurer Generali has approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that paves the way for an asset management deal with BPCE's Natixis Investment Managers to crate a European champion,

Assicurazioni Generali SpA and BPCE have reached a preliminary deal to combine their asset management units, potentially creating one of Europe’s biggest investment firms amid a deal wave across the industry.

Italy's Generali (BIT:GASI) and France's Natixis Investment Managers are set to join forces to create a new European asset manager overseeing €1.9 trillion ($1.979 trillion).

Generali and France's BPCE said on Tuesday they had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) to combine their asset management operations aiming to create Europe's largest player by revenues.

Generali and Natixis (BPCE group) on Tuesday signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to create a European asset management giant that will have 1.9 billion euros in assets under management and 4.