The sources said one possibility that has been considered would see Amundi (AMUN.PA) spinning off its Italian operations into a separate company, in which UniCredit (CRDI.MI) could buy a stake. Azimut had 83 billion euros of assets under management (AUMs) at the end of February. Amundi, which is 69% owned by Credit Agricole, ranks third in Italy with 214 billion euros of AUMs as of end-February. UniCredit had 194 billion euros of AUMs at group level in December. "Extracting further value from partnerships on asset management, protection and payments remains another focus," they added.

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