US investment bank JP Morgan Chase and two other investors have agreed to buy a 22% stake in Italian insurer Fondiaria for €812m (£494.5m), the Financial Times has reported.
The move comes as Fondiaria's board on Tuesday considers a merger offer from Toro, Fiat's insurance company, and another from SAI, an insurer that agreed last summer to buy 29% of Fondiaria as a first step towards a takeover.
Fondiaria fought off SAI's initial approach, but then sought a merger with SAI after SAI ran into regulatory problems.
Toro, also seeking to take advantage of SAI's troubles, last month outlined a merger proposal with Fondiaria and said it was willing to consider a three-way partnership.
JP Morgan's move is expected to smooth the way for Fondiaria to merge either with Toro or SAI, or with both. The investment bank is understood to see its move as a purely financial investment.
It acted together with Italian counterpart Interbanca and financier Francesco Micheli.
