The family Berlusconi exits the capital of Mediobanca and cash out 174 million euro. There is no controversy, just the need to rationalize the equity investment portfolio Fininvest, the holding company of the group led by Marina Berlusconi and to raise cash to buy Mediaset shares sold by Bollorè. However, the effects are not obvious and all still remain to be evaluated.
Il 2% of Mediobanca in the hands of Fininvest it was sold to Unicredit as an intermediary. But what is not clear for now is whether the bank led by Andrea Orcel, the "Cristiano Ronaldo of M&A", as he is defined in the world of finance, it will hold the stake or sell all the shares on the market. Or to one of Mediobanca's shareholders – from Leonardo DelVecchio a Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone – who have repeatedly entered the capital of the Piazzetta Cuccia institute with the idea of changing its direction and governance and piloting it towards Unicredit itself, with a view to creating a large Italian financial centre which obviously can only understand Generali. Not surprisingly, the Stock Exchange has for some time kept the shares of Mediobanca, Unicredit and Generali in the spotlight and yesterday Mediobanca hit its all-time high, rising to 9,8 euros per share.
The fact remains that, with the exit of the Berlusconi, who had entered Piazzetta Cuccia in 2007, Mediobanca becomes even more contestable, with the already light consultation pact dropping from 12,6 to 10,6% of the share capital. And the stock market knows it.
