Cryptic vision

19 June 2020 By Lisa Jucca Follow @LJucca

Leonardo Del Vecchio is building his shareholding in Mediobanca. The investment bank’s stake in insurer Generali puts it at the heart of Italian corporate power. The 85-year-old may be motivated by financial gains or prestige. Equally unclear is who inherits his expanded empire.

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Leonardo Del Vecchio, chairman and top shareholder of eyewear group EssilorLuxottica, plans to boost the European presence of Assicurazioni Generali but will not engage in a cross-border merger with rivals Axa or Zurich, Reuters reported on June 3 citing a source close to the billionaire.

Del Vecchio, 85, has filed a request with the European Central Bank to raise his stake in Mediobanca to as much as 20%, from just below 10%. The tycoon does not plan to submit his own slate of board nominees at an upcoming shareholder meeting in October, Reuters reported.

Mediobanca is Generali’s top shareholder with a 13% stake. Del Vecchio is the second-largest investor in the insurance group with nearly 5%.

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