Generali and Natixis are planning to merge to create the ninth-largest investment manager in the world by assets under management, the companies said Tuesday.

With €1.9tn in AUM, the joint venture would allow the pair to expand globally and speed up a push into private markets.

Natixis Investment Managers is set to merge with the asset management arm of Italian insurer Generali, creating the largest European asset manager by revenue.

The board of Italy's top insurer Generali has approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that paves the way for an asset management deal with BPCE's Natixis Investment Managers to crate a European champion,

Under the terms of the tie-up, BPCE and Generali Investments will combine their asset management operations in a 50-50 joint venture, people familiar with the situation said. A non-binding preliminary agreement could be reached as early as next week. It would still need to be approved by the relevant unions and authorities.

French banking group BPCE and Italian insurer Generali have reached an agreement to combine their asset management businesses, a move that will create a €1.9tn behemoth. The two groups said on 21 January that they had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to create a joint venture, with each owning 50% as part of a 15-year contract.