The buyer has now 4.9% of voting rights. The ten-year partnership aims to bring ICG’s private markets strategies to Amundi’s global wealth management channel
Paris-listed Amundi invested 620 million euros for completing the acquisition of a 9.9% (4.9% voting rights) of London-listed ICG (Intermediate Capital Group). In November 2025, the firms said that were mulling for consolidating their ten-year strategic partnership with an equity deal (press release; see here a previous post by BeBeez).
The transaction’s structure aimed at not diluting ICG’s existing shareholders. Following the announcement on 18 November 2025, Amundi acquired 4.64% of ICG the very next day. The second component, however, involved the issue to Amundi of new non-voting ICG shares, that the target offset through a corresponding buy-back and cancellation of ordinary equity (press release).
In February 2026, ICG carried on a buyback for up to 15.280.825 ordinary shares (5.26% ) to enable the issue of an equal number of non-voting shares to Amundi without any dilutive effect (press release).
The closing therefore takes place earlier than Amundi indicated in its 2025 results, when the group forecasted the process completion in early 2027. From 3Q26, Amundi’s assets under management, net inflows and financial results will reflect the contribution arising from its 9.9% stake in ICG.
This equity investment also strengthens the governance ties between the two groups. Under the original agreement, Amundi will appoint a non-executive director to ICG’s board, enabling it to participate in the group’s strategic decisions, whilst Amundi accounts for the investment using the equity method.
Shareholding, however, is only one component of a much broader industrial agreement. As BeBeez previously reported, Amundi and ICG signed a ten-year distribution agreement under which the French asset manager is the exclusive global distributor – with the exception of the United States, Australia and New Zealand – of ICG’s evergreen funds and selected other products through the wealth management channel. On the other hand, ICG is Amundi’s exclusive supplier for these types of products.
The first tangible result of this commercial collaboration will come in the coming weeks with the launch of an evergreen fund for private equity secondaries which will give wealth management clients access to this strategy of ICG LP. When the firms announced such partnership in November 2025, they identified their primary objective as the development of two European evergreen funds, one for private equity secondaries and the other for private debt.
The deal is part of Amundi’s strategy to accelerate growth in private markets by capitalising on the synergy between its distribution capabilities and ICG’s investment expertise. In 1H26, the assets under management of Amundi, a subsidiary of Paris-listed Crédit Agricole, amounted to 2.6 trillion euros. The firm reached over 200 million investors through an international network spanning 34 countries. In September 2025, when the firms announced the partnership, Amundi’s private markets platform managed 70 billion euros, with a presence built primarily in real estate and multi-manager investment activities, and strengthened in 2024 with the acquisition of Alpha Associates. In 1H26, ICG assets under management amounted to 126 billion US Dollars, invested in Structured Capital, Private Equity Secondaries, Private Debt, Credit, and Real Assets strategies.
The combination of the two platforms is specifically aimed at gradually opening up private markets to retail and high-net-worth clients, a segment in which major alternative asset managers are investing ever-increasing resources. Amundi offers a network of over 600 distributors that include retail banks, private banks, asset managers, insurance companies and digital platforms, in addition to the Crédit Agricole Group’s branches; ICG, on the other hand, contributes investment strategies and capabilities historically developed primarily for institutional clients.
Valérie Baudson, Amundi ceo, commented: “Our partnership with ICG represents a significant step forward in the development of Amundi’s private markets offering. By leveraging ICG’s leading expertise and Amundi’s global presence, as well as our in-depth understanding of the needs of individual clients, we will continue to expand access to private markets solutions for high-net-worth investors worldwide. This partnership creates a solid platform for innovation, with the aim of developing new products tailored to investors’ evolving needs, whilst generating profitable, long-term growth for the benefit of all stakeholders”.
Benoît Durteste, ICG ceo and cio, added: “We are delighted that Amundi now acquired a 9.9% equity stake in ICG, in line with the long-term strategic partnership announced in November 2025. Our teams are working closely together on a range of products tailored to the wealth management market, and we look forward to launching the first of these in the coming weeks: an evergreen fund that will provide access to our LPs Secondaries investment strategy. This is just the first step towards realising the commercial benefits of our partnership, which combines ICG’s leading investment capabilities with Amundi’s expertise in the wealth and pension markets, and we are already identifying a number of opportunities to further deepen our collaboration in the long term”.
