Economy

Generali and Natixis: towards a 2 trillion managed savings giant

Generali moves forward on Natixis. The board of directors approved the agreement for the joint venture in asset management worth almost 2 trillion euros. An agreement in which two unknowns hover: the possible golden power (with tens and tens of billions of euros of Italian savings in “French hands”) and internal divisions of the members (Delfin and Caltagirone) with the board of directors nearing the end of their mandate. And this morning, after the announcement, red for Generali on Piazza Affari.

The non-binding memorandum of understanding with Natixis, subsidiary of the French banking group BPCE, launches a managed savings giant worth 1,900 billion euros and revenues of around 4.1 billion per year. The new player in asset management would be ninth in the world and leader in asset management in Europe. According to what was officially communicated, it would be a 50% shareholding between Italy and France. Generali will bring 650 billion in assets, while Natixis will contribute 1,200 billion. Representatives of the two companies would sit in equal numbers on the board of directors of the new giant. About the times? Binding agreements by mid-2025 and possible closing early next year.

The board of directors has given the green light, but the divisions among the members exist and are not hidden. The main reservations come from significant shareholders, Delfin (9.77%) and Caltagirone (6.23%), concerned about the possible loss of control of an important slice of Italian savings. And the board of auditors officially complained that the deadlines were too short to be able to evaluate the operation. All this is part of a context of relationships already in strong dialectics between the shareholders and the management of Generali, with Mediobanca (which controls 13.13%) and is in turn owned by Delfin (19.8%) and Caltagirone (at 7.76%).

Complex relationships in a complex period. The renewal of Generali’s board of directors is in fact close, during the meeting on 8 May. And on that occasion, with this agreement now on the table, there could be a clash between a “new” list (Delfin and Caltagirone?) to challenge the current leadership and a tandem response (between Mediobanca and Assogestioni?). Before May there is then the appointment on January 30th, when Philippe Donnet, current CEO of Generali, will present the new three-year industrial plan. The French manager defended the agreement with the French, saying he was certain of the benefits. But there is no doubt that the issue of the agreement with Natixis in managed savings intersects with that for the renewal of the Leone board.

Another crucial issue of the agreement concerns the fate of Italian managed savings. Joint governance has been announced in the new group but this is not enough to stop the fears of many that a large part of Italian resources could be diverted to France. Criticism rejected by Philippe Donnet who responded that Italians’ savings will remain under the control of Italian insurance companies. And in addition there is the unknown of golden power. The legislation allows the government to block or impose conditions on operations involving sectors considered to be of national importance. The government has not yet expressed an official position on the Generali-Natixis agreement, but the movements of the Trieste group are never off the radar.