Bank of Baroda said it will buy out its foreign partner Pioneer Investments in its asset management subsidiary to raise its stake in the unit to 100%.
It will acquire 51% of Baroda Pioneer Asset Management Company for an undisclosed amount.
This is being done due to the acquisition of Pioneer Investments by Amundi, which already has India operations.
The company said it will explore the option of bringing in another partner.
A year ago, Unicredit said agreed with Amundi for the sale of Pioneer for €3,545 million.
“Given the rapid growth in the mutual fund industry, and the trend of household savings moving towards financial assets, the bank sees merit in building out the asset management business, with an aim to become a meaningful player in the asset and wealth management space,” said P. S. Jayakumar, Managing Director & CEO, Bank of Baroda.
“While in many respects, it will be business as usual, we are keen to see significant growth in the business Hence, we will evaluate all options in that regard, including inducting a strategic partner, if merited,” he added.
As on November 2017, the fund’s average assets under management (AUM) stood at about Rs. 11,000 crores.