A power struggle at Italy’s Mediobanca does not necessarily mean that Banca Mediolanum would sell its 3.3% stake in the merchant bank, Mediolanum’s chief executive was quoted as saying.
Billionaires Leonardo Del Vecchio and Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone have built up stakes in Mediobanca and have been at odds with Mediobanca CEO Alberto Nagel over strategy at Italy’s top insurer Generali. Mediobanca is the largest shareholder in Generali.
“With the arrival of two new important shareholders such as Del Vecchio and Caltagirone, the stability of the institution could change,” daily Il Messaggero quoted Mediolanum CEO Massimo Doris as saying in a preview of an interview that will be published on Thursday.
“This does not mean that we would leave just because of the possible change in governance; we would simply have a chance of assessing the news more serenely and of taking more pondered decisions,” Doris added.
Doris also repeated that he had “an excellent relationship” with Nagel, was satisfied with the results achieved so far, but also reiterated that he was not interested in a merger with Mediobanca.
Del Vecchio, founder of eyewear maker Luxottica, owns 18.9% of Mediobanca and became its single biggest investor in 2019 at a time when a core of longstanding shareholders in the Milanese bank unravelled.
Construction magnate Caltagirone has built a 3% stake in the merchant bank.
Source: Reuters.com