It's time to get the bids in for Pioneer Investments [profile], and three names have been revealed in the press so far.

Giordano Lombardo Pioneer Investments Chief Executive Officer and Group Chief Investment Officer

Mike Foster of Financial News reports that Poste Italiane, Generali and Amundi are all interested in the sale of Pioneer by Italian multinational bank UniCredit. Reuters also reports on Poste Italiane's possible bid. Word is that bids are due today. [See MFWire's living timeline of the Pioneer auction for more details and history.]

Financial News describes the bid from Poste Italiane, the Italian post office, as the looking "to be the best bet." Yet investment bankers tell the British paper that Generali (an Italian insurer) is also interested and Amundi (a French asset manager whose 2011 offer to buy Pioneer was blocked) is the "strongest contender" for buying Pioneer.

Poste Italiane is working on a joint bid with Anima Holding (an Italian asset manager) and CDP (Cass Depositi e Prestiti, a state-controlled Italian bank), both publications report. Post Italiane owns a 10.3-percent stake in Anima, and CDP owns a 35-percent stake in Poste Italiane.

UniCredit and Santander previously tried to merge their asset managers, only to pull the plug on the complicated deal last year. Then earlier this month Italian newspaper Il Messaggero broke the news that UniCredit is again soliciting bids for Pioneer. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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