SBI takeover of UTI AMC to create biggest fund house

06 July 2005

Mumbai: The State Bank of India (SBI) is likely to take control of UTI Asset Management Company (AMC). As it had outbid other three sponsors.

Earlier this year, the government put the AMC on the block, but restricted the bid to the four original sponsors — SBI, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Bank of Baroda (BoB).

The realisation for the deal is estimated at over Rs1,000-1,500 crore and the proposed transaction will result in the emergence of the biggest fund house in the country.

At present UTI AMC is the market leader in the domestic mutual fund business, with assets under management (AUM) aggregating Rs21,000 crore. SBI's mutual fund arm, SBI MF, manages assets worth around Rs7,200 crore. UTI AMC has over 35 schemes on offer, while SBI MF offers over a dozen schemes.

However, SBU will have to merge UTI AMC with its own mutual fund, as bank cannot sponsor two AMCs.