Amundi Is Said to Lead Bidding for SocGen’s Lyxor Fund Business

(Bloomberg) -- Amundi SA, Europe’s largest asset manager, has emerged as the leading bidder for Societe Generale SA’s Lyxor fund management arm, people familiar with the process said.

The Paris-based firm has pulled ahead of rival suitors including State Street Corp., according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

Amundi is now in advanced negotiations on terms of an agreement to acquire Lyxor and aims to reach a deal as soon as the next couple weeks, the people added.

Lyxor is one of Europe’s largest providers of exchange-traded funds and manages about 164.4 billion euros ($193 billion) of assets, according to its website. Amundi, whose majority shareholder is French lender Credit Agricole SA, had about 1.7 trillion euros under management at the end of December.

The transaction would add to a series of disposals by Societe Generale Chief Executive Officer Frederic Oudea, who’s been trying to shore up the bank’s capital buffers and boost profitability. In recent years, the bank has divested its Nordic leasing operations as well as its Belgian private bank.

Amundi already has a partnership with Societe Generale, which distributes its investment products through its retail branch network.

No final agreements have been reached, and talks could drag on longer or another winner could emerge, the people said. Representatives for Amundi, Societe Generale and State Street declined to comment.

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