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MOSCOW (Dow Jones)–Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali (G.MI) is interested in buying a stake in Russia’s VTB Group (VTBR.RS) for about $300 million during the bank’s share sale this month, two people familiar with the matter said Monday.

The Russian state is selling a 10% stake in the bank worth about $3.5 billion this month as the country seeks to privatize chunks of state-controlled assets to close its budget gap. VTB’s initial public offering in 2007 was the world’s biggest during that year, but the stock slumped shortly thereafter amid the financial crisis, leading Russian minority investors …