ING Groep NV's Polish unit ING Bank Slaski SA is looking to purchase local investment fund managers Union Investment TFI and NN Investment Partners TFI, Dziennik Gazeta Prawna reported May 21.
Union Investment TFI is a unit of Germany-based Union Investment, while NN Investment Partners TFI was created from investment fund manager ING TFI after ING Groep decided to divest its insurance and investment management business in 2014.
ING Bank Slaski is the only large Polish bank that does not have its own investment fund manager. The potential takeover of the two companies would make it Poland's third largest player in the segment of retail investment funds, Analizy.pl said, also citing Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
The potential transaction is in line with the consolidation trend on the Polish market, with PKO Bank Polski SA recently acquiring investment fund manager KBC TFI and Bank Pekao SA bringing its holding in Pioneer Pekao Investment Management to 100% following the purchase of a 51% stake from UniCredit SpA at the end of 2017, the news reports noted.
