Italy’s Agnelli family is in early talks to buy the asset management unit of Intesa Sanpaolo, one of the country’s big two banks, in what could become its biggest ever acquisition.

Exor, the investment company that manages the Agnelli family’s assets, including its 30.5 per cent stake in the carmaker Fiat, said on Friday a purchase of Banca Fideuram was one of a number of options it was examining, though any deal remained some way off.