Leonardo Del Vecchio Poised to Win Approval to Raise Mediobanca Stake
Leonardo Del Vecchio Poised to Win Approval to Raise Mediobanca Stake
(Bloomberg) -- Italian billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio won approval to double his stake in Italian lender Mediobanca SpA to as much as 20%, according to an e-mailed statement by Del Vecchio’s investment company Delfin.
The investor got the green light from the European Central Bank today, confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg News.
The ECB considers the stake as a financial investment and not part of any plan to control the bank, people familiar with the approval process have said.
Del Vecchio, chairman of eyewear maker EssilorLuxottica SA, recently built a 10% holding in Italy’s largest publicly traded investment bank and asked for approval to increase his stake in May. The billionaire has criticized Mediobanca Chief Executive Officer Alberto Nagel for being too conservative and overly dependent on the bank’s holdings in Assicurazioni Generali SpA.
People with knowledge of the matter said that Del Vecchio will support the executive as long as he delivers the expected returns. Representatives for the ECB declined to comment on the approval process.
Share Jump
Mediobanca shares had jumped on the news of the pending approval today and gained 3.18% in Milan trading. The stock has declined about 25% this year.
Del Vecchio is expected to increase his holding to 14% or more before the bank’s annual meeting in October, newspapers including Il Sole 24 Ore reported. That would give him a bigger stake than the 12.6% held by the shareholder group that controls the bank.
The 85-year-old founder of Luxottica is seeking to diversify his fortune into finance, which typically delivers higher returns than the eyewear industry. He also wants to preserve Mediobanca’s Italian roots and is prepared to defend the bank from hostile takeover approaches, people familiar with his strategy said in February.
Nagel is trying to boost revenue from wealth management to counter the effect of negative interest rates and the Italian economy’s struggles. The CEO has said he’s ready to look at acquisition opportunities to speed up growth.
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