SEBI approves Baroda Pioneer AMC

Mumbai, Jul 7: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has approved the proposal of Pioneer Global Asset Management for acquiring a majority stake in Bank Of Baroda (BOB) Mutual Fund.

With this approval, Pioneer Investments has formally acquired a 51 per cent shareholding in BOB Asset Management Company (AMC) Ltd and will commence its asset management operations and mutual fund business in India, the investment Company said in a release today. The joint venture firm will be named as ''Baroda Pioneer Asset Management Company Limited'', with Pioneer Investments holding 51 per cent stake along with management control and Bank of Baroda holding 49 per cent in the AMC, the Company said.

The schemes of the mutual fund would continue to be governed by their respective existing offer documents and the board of directors of the AMC will be reconstituted with nominees from the two partners as well as the complement of prominent persons as independent directors, the release said.

The Chief Executive Officer of this newly formed joint venture AMC will be Mr Rajan Krishnan, who has been associated with the project since April.

Pioneer Investments CEO Dario Frigerio said, ''Notwithstanding the recent volatility, we are convinced there is a huge potential for the asset management industry in India and the present market conditions provide a good opportunity to build a great long term track record.'' Commenting on this JV, BOB Chairman and Managing Director M D Mallya said, ''This joint venture with Pioneer Investments would help us offer a wider bouquet of financial services to the existing as well as new customers of the bank.''

UNI