MILAN, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Generali Investments, the

global investment arm of Italy's top insurer Generali,

said on Friday it had signed an agreement to buy a 77% stake in

the U.S. investment firm MGG Investment Group for $320 million.

Founded in 2014 by Kevin Griffin and McCourt Global, a

private family company, New York-based MGG has over $6 billion

in assets under management and provides senior secured loans and

structured capital solutions to U.S. middle market businesses.

The deal is expected to close this year with an estimated

negative impact on Generali's Solvency II ratio of two

percentage points.

The price may increase upon the achievement of certain

operational milestones, Generali Investments said in a

statement.

MGG's investment strategy will not change after the deal and

Kevin Griffin will remain as chief executive, the statement

said.