Societe Generale in talks with Amundi to sell Lyxor for €825m

French banking group Societe Generale (SocGen) said that it has entered into an exclusive negotiation with Amundi for the sale of Lyxor for €825 million in cash.

Amundi is a French asset management company majority-owned by Crédit Agricole, while Lyxor handles Societe Generale’s asset management activities. Lyxor operates mainly through Lyxor Asset Management, which is a fully-owned subsidiary of the French bank.

Established in 1998, Lyxor has about €140 billion in assets under management as of the end of December 2020, of which €124 billion are in the scope of the proposed transaction.

The proposed sale will cover Lyxor’s passive exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and active (including alternative) management activities for institutional clients across France and overseas.

Societe Generale said that the sale aligns with its strategy pertaining to savings, which is to operate in open architecture and to propose investment and asset management solutions to its clients by partnerships with external asset managers.

In this regard, the French group plans to create a wealth and investment solutions department within its private bank. The new department will become a center of expertise to structure savings, investment solutions, and asset management for Societe Generale’s private banking and retail banking networks, and also for providing its global markets clients with structured asset management solutions.

Frédéric Oudéa – CEO of Societe Generale said: “This transaction with Amundi, Europe’s leading asset manager, which Societe Generale helped to create, will enable Lyxor’s teams to play an active role in building the undisputed leader in passive management in Europe in a consolidating market.

“It is fully in line with Societe Generale’s strategy in terms of savings products, which is to operate in open architecture and team up with the best asset management experts to build the most suitable offers for our clients.

“Societe Generale and Amundi will remain key partners, each participating mutually in the value proposition implemented for their clients. In addition, this transaction would successfully close the refocusing program launched in 2018 by Societe Generale.”

Amundi said that the acquisition will help it become a leading European player in ETF management, with €142 billion in combined assets, a 14% market share in Europe, and a diversified profile in terms of clientele and also geography.

The French asset management company said that the proposed deal will be finalized by February 2022, following talks with the bodies representing Société Générale staff, and subject to getting prior authorizations from the relevant regulatory and competition authorities.