Italy's Del Vecchio heirs face off over reforms at shareholder meeting

Assicurazioni Generali SpA

Tue 09:31

Meeting was due to finalise family holding ownership overhaul
Plan has stalled as divisions among heirs deepened
Family clash unfolding as EssilorLuxottica share price plunges
Holding has key role to play in Italian banking consolidation
By Valentina Za

    MILAN, June 30 (Reuters) - Heirs of late Ray-Ban billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio are set to face off on Tuesday at a shareholder meeting of their Delfin vehicle, after trading barbs in recent weeks over conflicting proposals to change the set-up of the family holding.
Before the family feud spiralled out of control, filling the front pages of Italian newspapers, the heirs had been expected at the meeting to finalise an accord agreed only two months ago to amend Delfin's governance set-up and give more sway to one of the heirs.
The proposal was meant to settle a web of cross lawsuits over the inheritance.
Called to approve Delfin's financial accounts, the general assembly on Tuesday of the Luxembourg-based vehicle is now expected only to underline the deeper rifts that have emerged since the governance overhaul was proposed.
The clash within Delfin is unfolding after EssilorLuxottica shares, one of its main investments, tumbled over the past year, while a new wave of consolidation in Italian banking has given Delfin a pivotal role due to its investments in the sector.
With its 17.5% stake in Monte dei Paschi di Siena BMPS.MI, Delfin will be key in deciding the success of a takeover bid for the Siena-based bank announced by top Italian lender Intesa Sanpaolo ISP.MI.
     
DIVISIONS AMONG HEIRS
Eyewear magnate Del Vecchio, who died in 2022, divided his assets equally among his six children, as well as his widow and her son from another marriage. Each owns 12.5% of Delfin.
To overcome the equal ownership structure and streamline decision making, 30-year-old Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio in late April gained family approval to buy out two of his siblings and get a 37.5% stake in a €10 billion deal.
Delfin owns 32.4% of eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica ESLX.PA as well as stakes in Italian insurer Generali GASI.MI and banks Monte dei Paschi and UniCredit CRDI.MI.
However, the buyout plans stalled amid difficulties in securing bank financing as lenders sought additional safeguards from Delfin's board while tensions among the heirs flared.
Meanwhile, an alternative proposal was advanced by Rocco Basilico, the son of Del Vecchio's widow from a previous marriage, to sell all of Delfin's stakes except the one in EssilorLuxottica.
The plan looks equally hard to pursue, leaving a question mark over the future.
     
     

(Reporting by Valentina Za
Editing by Keith Weir)
((valentina.za@thomsonreuters.com; +39 02 6612 9526;))