Italian fund managers Fondi Immobiliari Italiani (Fimit) and First Atlantic Real Estate have reached an agreement for the merger of their real estate fund management businesses, creating a market leader in Italy with over EUR 8 bn of assets and 19 funds under management.

Institutional investors Ifim, Inpdap, Enpals and Enasarco, which control Fimit, and Dea Capital, the 70% owner of Fare Holding which controls First Atlantic Real Estate, have agreed to swap their units in the companies with an exchange ratio of 1.48/1. The transaction is due to be approved by the companies' boards, the Bank of Italy and the market authority, with completion estimated in six months.

The new group, named Idea Fimit, will 'position itself as one of the main interlocutors among Italian and international institutional investors in the promotion, creation and management of closed-end property funds'. In particular the operation 'creates the conditions for future development in foreign markets', the companies said in a joint statement.

Following the merger, the new company will be 40.3%-controlled by Fare Holding, 20.9% owned by Ifim, with other main shareholders including Inpdap (18.3%), Enpals (11.3%), Enasarco (5.9%), and Inarcassa (2.9%). Indirectly, the operation will give complete control of the group to Dea Capital, a Milan-based private equity group majority-owned by DeAgostini, a leading publishing group in Italy, which through its 70% stake in Fare Holding and 58.3% stake in Ifim, will have control on 61.3% of the new fund management group.

As part of the agreement, Dea Capital will have the right to name the group's new Chief Executive. Massimo Caputi, current CEO of Fimit, and Daniel Buaron, current CEO of First Atlantic RE, will be appointed to the management board with responsibilities for the Italian and foreign markets respectively.