Italy Construction Magnate Caltagirone Buys 1% of Mediobanca

(Bloomberg) -- Construction magnate Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone has bought more than 1% of Mediobanca SpA, joining Luxottica founder Leonardo Del Vecchio in the shareholding at Italy’s largest traded investment bank.

Caltagirone held a 1.014% stake as of February 23, according to a filing from Italy’s market regulator Consob. The stake was purchased through Istituto Finanziario 2012. A spokesman for Caltagirone confirmed the purchase and declined further comment.

Caltagirone’s investments range from construction to media and finance, and the entrepreneur already has shareholdings in companies where Del Vecchio owns stakes. Both are among the main shareholders at Assicurazioni Generali SpA, the insurer whose main investor is Mediobanca. Caltagirone, who’s a vice chairman at Generali, recently raised his stake in the company to 5.7%, while Del Vecchio owns almost 5%.

Luxottica founder Del Vecchio, Mediobanca biggest single investor with 13.2%, has criticized the lender’s management for being too passive in seeking growth opportunities and for being overly dependent on returns from its stake in Generali. Mediobanca Chief Executive Officer Alberto Nagel said in a December interview with Bloomberg that he has regular conversations with Del Vecchio and other main investors.

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