Factbox: Who's who in Italy's Generali drama

Caltagirone Editore SpA

27/04/2022 13:39

MILAN, April 27 (Reuters) - Generali shareholders will vote to select a
chief executive and board of directors on April 29.
    Philippe Donnet, who has been CEO at Europe's third-largest insurer since
2016, is running for reappointment with the backing of Generali's  GASI.MI 
outgoing board and its leading shareholder Mediobanca  MDBI.MI .
    Donnet's candidacy is opposed by Italian tycoon Francesco Gaetano
Caltagirone, Generali's second-largest investor, who has proposed former
Generali executive Luciano Cirina instead.
    Following is a summary of the main stakeholders and their stances:
        
                       - IN FAVOUR OF DONNET -
 MEDIOBANCA   Milanese bank holds 12.8% of Generali, which accounts
              for a third of its profit. To counter challenger
              investors at AGM it has secured a temporary 17.2%
              voting stake.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2W4588
 DE AGOSTINI  Italian publisher has praised Donnet and is expected to
              back his reappointment before completing planned
              disposal of its 1.44% Generali stake.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2W4588
 NORGES       Generali shareholders Union Investment and Deka
 BANK, CPP,   Investment have both told Reuters they back Donnet.
 CALPERS,      urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2WB0MO urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2WN40F Proxy voting records show that
 SBA          Norway's sovereign wealth fund Norges Bank, U.S.
 FLORIDA,     investors CalPERS and SBA Florida, Canada's CPP are
 UNION        also in favour.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS8N2U107F L5N2WK2BO  Swiss
 INVESTMENT,  foundation Ethos, comprising more than 220 pension
 DEKA         funds, has recommended a pro-Donnet vote.
  
                          - AGAINST DONNET -
 FRANCESCO    79-year-old construction and newspaper magnate has a
 GAETANO      9.95% Generali stake, which he has gradually increased
 CALTAGIRONE  in recent years. Before stepping down in January,
              Caltagirone had been a Generali board director since
              2007, also taking on the role of vice chair in 2010. He
              will likely have a seat on the board again even if his
              bid to oust Donnet fails.
 LEONARDO     Billionaire founder of Italian eyewear giant Luxottica
 DEL          is third-largest shareholder in Generali with a stake
 VECCCHIO     of around 8%. Del Vecchio, who is also the biggest
              investor in Mediobanca with a near 20% stake, has sided
              with Caltagirone. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2VX3FH 
 FONDAZIONE   Banking foundation with a 1.7% stake supports
 CRT          Caltagirone's plan for Generali.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2WB4T3    
    
                           - YET TO DECIDE -
 BENETTON       With 4% Generali stake and close ties to both camps,
 FAMILY         Benettons are set to back rival slate and want to
                promote dialogue and cooperation after AGM.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:n1N2VE01X
 INSTITUTIONAL  Hold in aggregate 35% of the insurer. Their AGM
 INVESTORS      attendance in recent years has been at around 20% but
                this year overall attendance is set to be markedly
                higher. Their vote is usually oriented by the
                recommendations of leading governance advisers
                Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass
                Lewis which have both backed Donnet. Fund shareholders
                include BlackRock  BLK.N , Fidelity Investments,
                Vanguard, Thornburg Investment Management. 
                A group of 11 institutional investors holding 0.64% of
                Generali has filed a separate slate, which does not
                include a CEO candidate.
 RETAIL         Small savers made up mostly of wealthy families in
 SHAREHOLDERS   Italy's north east hold around 22% of Generali. For
                retail shareholders the focus is the dividend policy,
                which Donnet in December pledged to boost.
 
    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Facing shareholder showdown, Generali CEO says can deliver on plan   
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2WJ35W
Generali shareholder showdown to decide CEO Donnet's fate     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2WO3NF
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 (Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro and Valentina Za; Editing by Kirsten Donovan
and Alexander Smith)
 ((gianluca.semeraro@tr.com; +39 06 80 307 741;))