Fundsters interested in UniCredit's attempts to find a buyer for Pioneer [see profile], attempts that officially ended in April, may want to take a look at the Financial Times. Chris Newlands reports that global Pioneer chief Roger Yates attacked (though not by name) the various firms who tried to buy the global asset manager and mutual fund firm.

"We examined how Pioneer might look in combination with other groups, but my conclusions were that [those groups] needed us far more than we needed them," Yates reportedly said. "Those firms did not move the dial in terms of investment quality, had dubious profitability levels and Byzantine business structures."

Companies previously mentioned Pioneer suitors include Amundi, Eurizon, Natixis and Resolution.

Yates insisted that Pioneer is no longer on the block, though Italian bank parent UniCredit has seen better days. UniCredit chief Federico Ghizzoni has raised the possibility of "a rights issue, risk-weighted asset reduction and asset sales," all "to raise its capital buffers" in the words of the FT. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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