LONDON (Reuters) -Italy's top insurer Assicurazioni Generali (MI:GASI) has dropped out of the race to buy the asset management arm of Dutch rival NN Group NV, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Generali and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn)'s asset management unit DWS were among suitors that last week filed non-binding bids for the company which oversees assets linked to NN's life insurance products, sources had said.
But the people on Tuesday said Generali had decided to quit the process, which is expected to be very competitive.
Generali declined to comment while NN was not immediately available for comment.
Analysts say a reported initial price tag of 1.5 billion euros ($1.83 billion) for the NN unit is likely to go up in the bidding process.
Italy's largest bank Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) had also considered bidding last week but decided against submitting a preliminary offer, a source close to the matter said.
Generali, which last week announced a 1.17 billion euro ($1.4 billion) takeover bid for domestic rival Cattolica, says it has "a disciplined and opportunistic" approach to acquisitions.
In March it lost out to Allianz (DE:ALVG) in the race to acquire Aviva (LON:AV)'s Polish operations.
Taking into account the Cattolica bid and a 300 million euro deal to buy rival AXA's assets in Malaysia, Generali has some 800 million euros left for acquisitions under its current plan through 2021. ($1 = 0.8213 euros)
($1 = 0.8211 euros)