Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio renews bid for all Delfin shares, meeting set by 7 November

A new offer for the whole stake

Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, president of Lmdv Capital, has sent the shareholders of Delfin a new offer to buy their stakes in the family holding. He announced it in a letter published by Qn, the Quotidiano Nazionale group of which he is publisher, on Monday, 2 November. He calls it the most serious proposal he has ever made. The offer covers either a full and immediate purchase of the shares or more diluted forms of acquisition spread over time, leaving each shareholder free to choose. He asked the shareholders to meet him by 7 November, together or one by one, to present the plan in detail.

“Today I sent Delfin's shareholders an offer to buy their shares.”

La Stampa reports that the plan leaves out the stake held by Nicoletta Zampillo, the mother of the offeror. Excluding her holding and his own, the purchase would lift Del Vecchio from 12.5% to 87.5% of Delfin.

Financing and governance

La Stampa reports that Citigroup is ready to finance up to 22 billion and would cover the full amount without the letters of patronage or board approvals that, according to the same paper, blocked similar moves by Lmdv in the past. Open instead describes the lender as an American credit institution, while the letter itself refers only to a leading international bank. La Stampa puts the overall value of the offer at about 20 billion and cites 3.7 billion for each of the stakes. Del Vecchio writes that the vehicle buying the shares would follow stronger governance rules fixed in binding bylaws, with two experienced managers on the board whose opinions on significant financial decisions would be binding.

“I know an initiative of this size requires guarantees, not just intentions.”

The offer, as Open reports, would not rely on letters of patronage or guarantees from the board.

Rival bid and family dispute

Czech entrepreneur Michal Strnad, who heads the Czechoslovak Group (CSG), sent his own offer for the Delfin holding to the board on 20 October. Open reports that Strnad offered 30 billion euros, a 30% discount to a net asset value estimated at around 40 billion. La Stampa says Del Vecchio's proposal carries the same valuation and the same discount, but unlike Strnad's would keep the Luxembourg holding in the family and in Italy. Delfin holds 32.4% of EssilorLuxottica, 28% of Covivio, and stakes in Generali, UniCredit and Monte dei Paschi. La Stampa says the succession has been stalled for four and a half years. In the letter Del Vecchio acknowledged mistakes, including in tone, and said his advisers now speak every day with those of the other shareholders.

“I have given instructions to waive the legal actions I brought against some of my family members.”

Timeline and next steps

The dates reported so far run from Strnad's offer of 20 October to Del Vecchio's letter of 2 November and the meeting he proposes by 7 November. Open reports that the plan needs five shareholders to join, which would give the Del Vecchio side six of the eight board seats.

Whether those shareholders accept the meeting and whether the financing is confirmed are not yet settled in the reporting.