Billionaire Del Vecchio Boosts Mediobanca Stake to Almost 10%

(Bloomberg) --

Italian billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio’s recent spending spree will make him the top investor in Mediobanca SpA, as the founder of eyewear giant Luxottica pushes for changes at the country’s biggest investment bank.

Del Vecchio’s Delfin holding company bought a stake of about 2.5% in an accelerated book-building by UniCredit late Wednesday, according to people familiar with the transaction who asked to not be named because the process is private.

That brings the Del Vecchio holding to almost 10%. UniCredit disposed of its entire 8.4% stake in the bank. Del Vecchio’s shareholding is worth about 955 million euros ($1.06 billion) at current market prices after he spent about 236 million euros for the latest stake.

A representative of Delfin wasn’t available for comment.

The move caps a major shakeup of control at Mediobanca. Del Vecchio unexpectedly announced in September that he had amassed almost 7% and people familiar with the matter said he was considering increasing that to more than 10%.

Del Vecchio is seeking to invest some of his $24 billion fortune in the Italian financial industry to create a global leader in the sector, the people said. Last month, he called for a new business plan for Mediobanca that’s less dependent on the returns of insurer Assicurazioni Generali SpA and its Compass unit and more focused on investment banking.

Del Vecchio has invested more than 800 million euros in Mediobanca since September, as speculation increases about whether he intends to change the bank’s leadership and strengthen ties between Delfin, the bank and Generali. Mediobanca is Generali’s biggest shareholder with 13%, while Del Vecchio owns almost 5%. A larger stake in Mediobanca will give him more influence over the insurer’s business and deal-making strategy.

UniCredit Chief Executive Officer Jean Pierre Mustier said Thursday that his bank’s Mediobanca stake had been considered as non-strategic ever since his request for a stronger pact among shareholders was rejected. Before Wednesday’s sale, UniCredit had been Mediobanca’s biggest shareholder.

--With assistance from Daniele Lepido and Chiara Remondini.

To contact the reporters on this story: Tommaso Ebhardt in Milan at tebhardt@bloomberg.net;Jan-Henrik Förster in Zurich at jforster20@bloomberg.net;Sonia Sirletti in Milan at ssirletti@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net, Jerrold Colten, Dan Liefgreen

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