Amundi SA to acquire 37% stake in SBI Funds

European asset management company Amundi SA will pick up 37% stake in SBI Funds Management, which owns the SBI Mutual Fund, according to a company communication.

The formalities would be completed within the next two months, sources said.

Deepak Chatterjee, managing director of SBI Funds Management declined to comment.

Societe Generale Asset Management will transfer its entire stake of 18.5 lakh shares or 37% as part of a global move to merge its asset management business with Credit Agricole.

In a letter to unit holders last week, the fund said its board of directors approved the change in shareholding through a resolution dated February 5, 2011.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India gave its nod to this on March 24, 2011.

SBI Funds Management is a joint venture between French Asset Manager Societe Generale SA and the State Bank of India. It was formed in November 2004 with Societe Generale acquiring 37% in the company.

Subsequently, Societe Generale and Credit Agricole SA decided to merge their global asset management businesses, a process which was completed on December 31, 2009.

The resultant entity under the name of Amundi is an asset management company which is owned 75% by Credit Agricole and 25% by Societe Generale.

Amundi, through a wholly owned subsidiary known as Amundi India Holding, will acquire Societe Generale’s 37% stake amounting to 18.5 lakh shares in the company.

Amundi has €690.5 billion
(Rs44 lakh crore) of assets under management. Fifty percent of the holdings are in bonds, 17% in money market funds, 15% in equities, and the remaining in alternative, absolute return, structured and diversified asset classes.

During the January-March quarter, SBI Mutual Fund had assets of Rs41,671.80 crore of average assets under management, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India. It is the sixth largest mutual fund in India.

Unit holders of the fund as on May 27, 2011, are being given an option to exit without payment of exit load, between May 30 to June 28.

Global mergers and acquisitions have resulted in changes in shareholding of Indian mutual fund arms in recent times. Previously, AIG sold its global asset management business to Pacific Century Group (PCG), taking over AIG’s asset management business under the Pinebridge brand in over 30 countries. Their Indian arm began the process of transferring ownership in late 2010.

After BNP Paribas completed its acquisition of the assets of Fortis Bank, the firm had two mutual funds in India — one in the form of Fortis Mutual Fund and the other through its joint venture with Sundaram, called Sundaram BNP Paribas Asset Management Company.

Regulators do not allow one firm to have a stake in two mutual funds in India.

Ultimately, BNP Paribas sold out of its joint venture with Sundaram Finance which was renamed Sundaram Mutual Fund. Fortis Mutual Fund has been renamed BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.