BNP Paribas is in exclusive negotiations to acquire AXA Investment Managers for €5.1bn, in a deal which would increase its assets under management to €1.5trn.
The two firms plan to enter a long-term partnership whereby BNP Paribas would provide investment management services to AXA.
Thomas Buberl, chief executive of AXA, said that although AXA IM is “a leading player, notably in alternatives”, the asset management industry is “rapidly consolidating and highly competitive”.
“By joining forces with BNP Paribas, AXA IM would become a global asset manager with a wider product offering and a mutual objective to further their leading position in responsible investing,” Buberl explained.
Selling the investment division will enable AXA to focus on its core insurance activities, the firm announced.
Joseph Dickerson, an equity analyst at Jefferies, said the deal “makes sense” because BNP Paribas “needed to go big in asset-gathering businesses, where it has lacked momentum versus peers in recent years”.
Acquiring AXA IM will “help BNP Paribas close the gap with Amundi”, which has €2.2tn under management, and surpass Natixis Investment Manager (€1.2tn) to become the second largest asset manager in Europe.
“We continue to expect BNP to grow inorganically, particularly in asset management, wealth management and insurance,” Dickerson concluded.