BARODA Asset Management India Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda and BNP Paribas Asset Management India Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas Asset Management Asia Limited, announced on October 14 that they have agreed to merge, subject to regulatory and other legal approvals.

Bank of Baroda and BNP Paribas Asset Management Asia Limited have entered into binding agreements. The agreements have been signed by Vikramaditya Singh Khichi, executive director, Bank of Baroda and Franciska Decuypere, head of territory, India, BNP Paribas, in the presence of P S Jayakumar, managing director & chief executive officer, Bank of Baroda.

The strategic alliance allows both companies to leverage each other’s strengths to offer products specially designed for retail and institutional clients in India. This demonstrates their ongoing commitment to introducing new products to cater to the increasing investment appetite of investors.

“We are pleased to partner with a global organisation such as BNP Paribas Asset Management. We value their expertise and the robust investment and risk management processes they have to offer. This joint venture will allow us to create a stronger, more competitive asset management company in the Indian mutual fund industry with the large distribution network of Bank of Baroda and the expertise of BNP Paribas coupled with the benefit of the firm’s ability to source offshore funds,” says Jayakumar.

“India is a key market in the region for BNP Paribas Asset Management. This strategic partnership reinforces both our local footprint and global outreach in Asia-Pacific. By leveraging Bank of Baroda’s large number of branches for distribution and our global experience of managing assets across more than 30 markets, this partnership will enable us to offer products and services to a much larger investor base in India,” adds Ligia Torres, chief executive officer Asia-Pacific, BNP Paribas Asset Management.

Bank of Baroda is being assisted by BOB Capital Markets Ltd as its transaction advisor, Khaitan & Co as its legal advisor and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP as its financial due-diligence advisor, while BNP Paribas Asset Management is being assisted by BNP Paribas Investment Banking as its transaction advisor, AZB & Partners as its legal advisor and PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt Ltd as its financial due-diligence advisor.