Bangalore: State-owned Bank of India re-entered the mutual fund business by forging a joint venture with AXA Investment Managers.

The new JV -- BOI-AXA Investment Managers Pvt Ltd -- will be owned 51 per cent by Bank of India and 49 per cent by AXA Investment Managers, BoI said in a statement.

However, BoI did not disclose the transaction size.

The bank has acquired 25 percent stake from Bharti Enterprises and 26 per cent from the Axa Investment Managers Asia Holdings.

Unveiling its new logo, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said, "BOI AXA Investment Managers Pvt Ltd will facilitate investment in debt and equity and also promote financial literacy".

With the acquisition, Bharti Enterprises, which had about 25 per cent stake in the fund house, has made an exit from the asset management business. The company which was in existence since 2008 operated as Bharti AXA Investment Managers.

AXA Investment Managers is an affiliate of France-based AXA group.

With the stake transfer BoI made its re-entry into mutual fund business. The bank was in the mutual fund business in 1990.

At present, there are eight MFs either fully or partly owned by banks along with overseas partners.

These include Baroda Pioneer Mutual Fund, Canara Robeco Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential MF, Principal MF of PNB, SBI Mutual Fund, Axis MF, IDBI Mutual Fund and Union KBC MF of Union Bank.