Generali grows in asset management, takes over Conning and starts a partnership with Cathay Life: it now manages 845 billion

MILAN. Generali expands its asset management business globally. The company today announced the acquisition of global asset manager Conning Holdings (CHL) from Cathay Life with whom it has entered into a minimum 10-year partnership.

The operation envisages that Cathay Life will transfer 100% of Conning to Generali Investments Holdings, a company that collects most of the assets of the insurance group in asset management.

By way of consideration, Cathay Life is expected to hold 16.75% of Generali Investment Holdings upon closing.

With the acquisition of Conning and its subsidiaries, the group’s total assets under management will increase to 845 billion dollars (775 billion euros).

Generali’s diversified investment expertise and third-party client activities extend with today’s operation to the US and Asia thanks to the experience of Conning and its subsidiaries in the management of assets for insurance and institutional clients, in line with the Group’s “Lifetime Partner 24: Driving Growth” strategy.

Conning and its subsidiaries are among the leading global asset management firms dedicated to insurance companies and institutional clients with approximately $157 billion (144 billion) of Aum. Scope of operations includes Conning (fixed income instruments for insurance and institutional clients), Octagon Credit Investors (bank loans, CLOs and alternative credit), Global Evolution (emerging markets debt) and Pearlmark (debt and equity for real estate) .

“Thanks to the acquisition of Conning and the long-term partnership with Cathay Life, we are strengthening our expertise in asset management, expanding our presence in key markets such as the United States and Asia – commented Philippe Donnet, CEO of Generali -. We will also develop a platform capable of realizing our strategic ambitions in asset management and of creating value for the benefit of all stakeholders, including the Group’s insurance business”.

“This transaction favors the creation of sustainable value for both companies and for third-party customers, thanks to the strong complementarity between Generali’s Asset Management and Conning – said Carlo Trabattoni, Generali’s CEO Asset & Wealth Management -. It also reinforces our ambitions and our position as the world’s leading distributor of diversified investment solutions, with new expertise dedicated to insurance companies and institutional clients. For our asset management business, the benefits are significant, thanks to the integration of differentiated and high-quality investment capabilities”.

In Piazza Affari, the Generali stock was weighed down in the afternoon by the negative market context and lost more than two percentage points while the FtseMib was 2.28% behind.