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Delfin, the Luxembourg-based holding company that controls the fortune of the late Italian billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio, has held preliminary talks with banks about financing the purchase of stakes held by one or more of his eight heirs, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing two people close to the matter.
The discussions are "at a very early stage" and "there is no certainty they will lead to a transaction," the people told Reuters. Delfin declined to comment.
A deal would be the latest attempt to break a deadlock that has gripped Delfin since Del Vecchio, who founded the eyewear maker Luxottica and built it into the owner of brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley, died in June 2022 at the age of 87. His estate was split equally among eight heirs: his widow Nicoletta Zampillo, his six children and Zampillo's son Rocco Basilico. Each holds about 12.5% of Delfin, and disagreements among them have stalled decisions on the group's future.
What is on the table
Delfin's net asset value is estimated at about €40 billion ($44.87 billion), most of it from its 32.4% stake in EssilorLuxottica, the Franco-Italian group formed when Luxottica merged with French lens maker Essilor in 2018. The holding company also owns minority stakes in Italian lender Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena and insurer Assicurazioni Generali.
Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that Delfin had looked at buying out two shareholders with combined stakes of about 25%, according to Reuters. That would cut the number of owners from eight to six and lift each remaining heir's holding to roughly 16.5%.
Il Sole 24 Ore, the Milan financial daily, reported that the talks are now focused on Delfin buying the 12.5% stake held by Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, the founder's 31-year-old son, Reuters said.
A son at odds with management
The focus on Leonardo Maria marks a turnaround. In the first half of this year, he offered about €10 billion ($11.2 billion) for the combined 25% held by two of his siblings, Luca and Paola, a deal that would have made him Delfin's largest shareholder with 37.5%. He lined up a debt package from banks including UniCredit, BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole, according to Bloomberg, which cited La Repubblica. The transaction did not go through.
Francesco Milleri, the chief executive of EssilorLuxottica who also chairs Delfin, had welcomed a simpler ownership structure, according to Reuters. In June, Leonardo Maria used an open letter in Quotidiano Nazionale, a newspaper he owns, to press Delfin's board to back his plan. "The issue stopped being financial and became a matter of governance," he wrote.
In August, he quit his roles as chairman of Ray-Ban and chief strategy officer of EssilorLuxottica. In a letter to Milleri and the board, reported by Milano Finanza, he described the group's management as "distant" and "impersonal" and wrote, "This is not the Luxottica I grew up in." An EssilorLuxottica spokesperson confirmed the resignation and thanked him for his contribution to the group's growth.
He has since stepped up his criticism of Milleri. In an interview on the Pulp Podcast reported by Italian news agency ANSA this week, Leonardo Maria said he had been Milleri's strongest supporter while results were good, but walked away once the company's value fell. He said Milleri, as head of a listed company, "should be a little more tense" after losing 50%. He also said the inheritance as a whole is not blocked and that a "war" is being fought over €300 million, a reference to a bequest to Milleri, according to SoldiOnline, which carried the ANSA report.
How a buyout could be funded
Borrowing to buy out an heir would leave Delfin with debt to service, most likely from the dividends it receives from EssilorLuxottica. Italian press reports earlier this year said a buyback could also draw on Delfin's cash reserves and on sales of some of its financial holdings, including the stakes in Monte dei Paschi and Generali.
The stake sizes matter beyond the family. Delfin is the largest shareholder in EssilorLuxottica and a key investor in two of Italy's most closely watched financial institutions, so any change in who controls the holding company could shape decisions at all three.
Leonardo Maria said in August that he would remain involved as a Delfin shareholder and would "continue to defend the company's independence."
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