Ferrari boss pitted against his mother in Agnelli inheritance drama
19/05/2023 08:00
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Turin court hears latest battle over Agnelli fortune
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Margherita Agnelli lines up against eldest children
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Margherita contests her 1.2 billion euro settlement
By Emilio Parodi and Giulio Piovaccari
MILAN, May 19 (Reuters) - A court in Turin is set to
rule in the coming weeks on an inheritance dispute dividing the
Agnelli family, the founders of the Fiat car company and
arguably the best known of Italy's business dynasties.
The case stems from the estate of Gianni Agnelli, the
celebrated Fiat boss who was a symbol of Italy's post-war
economic boom and died two decades ago.
It pits Agnelli's daughter Margherita, who inherited 1.2
billion euros ($1.3 billion), against three of her eight
children including her eldest, John Elkann, the chairman of
Ferrari RACE.MI and carmaker Stellantis STLAM.MI .
In the dispute that has riven one of Italy's elite families,
Margherita is fighting to overturn agreements she signed after
her father's death in order to eventually benefit her five
children from a second marriage, sources close to her say.
Should the Turin court decide in her favour, Margherita, who
is 67 and Gianni Agnelli's only surviving child, could stake a
claim to half of her late mother's estate and a share in the
Elkann family business.
"GENEVA PACTS" AT CENTRE OF DISPUTE
The dispute has its origins in an inheritance deal known as
the "Geneva pacts" that Margherita, an artist and
philanthropist, signed in 2004 after the death of her father the
previous year and agreed when Fiat was on the brink of
bankruptcy.
Under the first pact, Margherita received property, works of
art and other liquid assets from Gianni's estate and renounced
any future influence in the Dicembre (December) company, a key
part of the ownership structure of Exor, the Agnelli-family
holding.
The pacts cemented John Elkann's position as Gianni
Agnelli's chosen successor and effectively took his mother
Margherita out of the equation.
John Elkann, 47, now leads Exor, which owns slices of
prestigious businesses and brands including national newspapers
and soccer club Juventus JUVE.MI .
The second pact covered what would happen to the estate of
Margherita's mother Marella, who died only in 2019 aged 91.
Marella passed her Dicembre stake to three of her
grandchildren, John, his brother Lapo and sister Ginevra, from
Margherita's first marriage to journalist Alain Elkann.
Margherita wants the pacts to be rescinded to be able to
give her children with second husband Serge De Pahlen, a
Franco-Russian former Fiat executive, a share of their
grandmother's estate, sources close to her say.
Margherita also argues that undeclared wealth belonging to
her father was discovered after his death and that she is
entitled to a share of this along with other family members.
A source on Margherita's side dismissed suggestions that the
initial settlement covered the possibility of additional hidden
assets being found from Gianni Agnelli's estate.
LEGAL CLAIM IN SWITZERLAND OR ITALY?
Marella's death prompted the legal claim that is at the
centre of the case that opened three years ago in Turin, the
home of Fiat and traditional base for the Agnelli clan.
It is the latest in a series of court battles over the
inheritance, spread between Switzerland and Italy over the past
15 years.
Margherita's lawyers in Turin argue that the "Geneva pacts"
should be declared null and void because they were signed on the
basis that Marella's residence was in Switzerland, which they
dispute. Italian law prohibits such inheritance pacts.
Documents filed by Margherita's lawyers with the court of
Turin, which have been reviewed by Reuters and include reports
by private investigators, claim that from 2003 to 2019 Marella
never spent more than four months a year in Switzerland and
should not have qualified as a Swiss resident.
Sources close to the Elkann camp maintain that both the
Swiss and the Italian authorities confirmed Marella Agnelli's
status as a Swiss resident when she died in 2019 and also in
2004 when the inheritance agreement was signed.
The source on Margherita's side disputes that
interpretation.
SHARES IN THE FAMILY FIRM
Following Marella's death, John Elkann has a 60% share of
the Dicembre holding while brother Lapo and sister Ginevra each
have 20%. Dicembre is at the heart of a web of companies
spanning the vast Agnelli family investments.
It is the largest shareholder, with a 38% stake, in Giovanni
Agnelli BV, which groups around 100 shareholders representing
around 200 living descendants of original Fiat founder Giovanni
Agnelli.
Giovanni Agnelli BV in turn has a 53% controlling stake in
listed Exor, which owns stakes in Stellantis, Ferrari and
Juventus.
The sources close to the Elkanns maintain there is no legal
outcome that can reverse the transfer of the shares in Dicembre
to the Elkanns. The claims of Margherita seek to obtain
unwarranted further financial advantage, they say.
A verdict is due in Turin before the summer break but it
might not be an end to an affair that has left Margherita
estranged from her first three children.
The Italian judges have the option of suspending judgment
pending a ruling from a Swiss court in a parallel case on the
legality of the Geneva pacts.
($1 = 0.9084 euros)
(Reporting by Emilio Parodi and Giulio Piovaccari
Writing by Keith Weir;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
((giulio.piovaccari@thomsonreuters.com))