Bollore ends commitment to Mediobanca shareholder pact
27/09/2018 09:19
MILAN, Sept 27 (Reuters) - French financier Vincent Bollore
has decided to pull out of a shareholder pact with Mediobanca
MDBI.MI in a surprise move that could shake up governance at
Italy's most influential investment bank.
Bollore, Mediobanca's second biggest shareholder and a key
member of the pact for 20 years, opted to withdraw due to his
increasing financial commitment to French media giant Vivendi
VIV.PA and a need to keep assets more flexible, Mediobanca
said in a statement on Thursday.
The move, which follows a similar decision by smaller
Italian investor Italmobiliare ITMI.MI , means the shareholder
pact will now automatically dissolve on January 1, leaving
investors free to sell their stakes from that date.
However, Mediobanca said Bollore, who holds 7.9 percent of
the merchant bank, had made it clear in a letter sent to
Mediobanca that he intends to hang on to the stake.
Mediobanca, the leading shareholder in Italy's top insurer
Generali GASI.MI , was for years at the heart of Italian
finance with key stakes in a number of leading companies.
But in recent years it has sold most of those stakes to
focus on traditional banking and plans to sell down its stake in
Generali to help fund its wealth management business.
A source familiar with the matter said shareholders would
now decide whether to set up another looser pact or let it
dissolve.
Other key shareholders in Mediobanca include Italy's biggest
bank UniCredit CRDI.MI , asset manager Mediolanum MED.MI and
Benetton holding company Edizione.
UniCredit, the biggest shareholder with 8.4 percent, has not
announced any decision on its commitment to the pact but two
sources recently said it was minded to remain. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nI6N1UT02K
The pact, which 15 years ago accounted for around 60 percent
of capital, currently locks in 28.47 percent.
(Reporting by Stephen Jewkes
Editing by Keith Weir)
((stephen.jewkes@thomsonreuters.com; +39.0266129695; Reuters
Messaging: stephen.jewkes.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))