PARIS (Reuters) - French asset manager Amundi (>> Amundi S.A.) plans to sell new shares totalling between 1.5 billion euros to 2 billion euros (1.59 to 1.27 billion pounds) early next year to fund the acquisition of its Italian rival Pioneer from UniCredit (>> UniCredit SpA), the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources.

The capital increase would likely dilute Credit Agricole's (>> Crédit Agricole) stake in Amundi, currently at about 75 percent, according to the FT, which cites three people close to the matter.

Spokesmen for Amundi and Credit Agricole were not immediately available for comment.

UniCredit, Italy's biggest bank by assets, said on Monday it started exclusive talks with Amundi to sell its asset management arm Pioneer Investments in a deal that could be higher than 3.5 billion euros.

(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain and Gilles Guillaume; Editing by Ingrid Melander)

Stocks treated in this article : Crédit Agricole, UniCredit SpA, Amundi S.A.