The one on April 24th "is not a referendum on Natixis, but a vote to decide whether Generali remains a public company or passes under the control of private entities without them paying a premium to the other shareholders". The CEO of Generali says this bluntly Philippe Donnet in an interview given to Corriere della Sera in view of the fundamental meeting scheduled at the end of the month in Trieste. An appointment to which the manager presents himself “optimistic and confident”, strong in the results achieved in recent years. Under his guidance, in fact, the capitalization of the Lion on the stock exchange has gone from 15 to 51 billion euros, while in the last nine years “the overall shareholder return was 320%, 103% in the last three years alone. This is the best performance in the insurance sector in Europe”, he highlights, while in the same period Generali made around 40 acquisitions with an investment of 7,6 billion.
Donnet on Caltagirone and Delfin
Answering a question about the minority list submitted by Caltagirone and Dolphin, Donnet explains: "My role is to manage reality, I am determined to carry on my work with a team of talented and young managers. The shareholders' interest is to protect their investment and this can only be done if they choose a cohesive, not fragmented, council, which will allow us to carry out the plan as we have done so far."
Donnet on Unicredit: “Possible to extend collaborations in Eastern Europe”
Speaking of Unicredit's entry into the capital, with a 5,2% share, Donnet told the Courier: “Unicredit has defined the investment as purely financial. It is a confirmation that they are convinced of the validity of our new plan and this pleases us. The three largest financial institutions in Italy are led by independent and highly professional managers, recognized by the market, and who speak the same language. We spoke with Orcel. There are collaborations on the insurance front in theis Europa, where we are already partners, but the discussion could also be extended to other areas".
Donnet on Natixis: “No head-on confrontation with the government, savings remain protected”
To a question on whether it will weigh on the vote the Natixis “knot”, the CEO of Generali replied: “The agreement with the French bank Bpce, owner of Natixis, It has no impact on this plan. Consultations are underway with the French unions and will conclude at the end of May, then the authorization process with the Italian authorities will begin", Donnet assured, underlining that in Italy "there will be no no head-on collision with the government, and this regardless of the outcome of the meeting."
“National savings remain protected, just like today. Regulation requires companies to decide how and where to invest, down to the last euro. Generali will always maintain full control over the money that our customers entrust to us. After all, in Italy, various companies have always given mandates to foreign managers. So far, no one has ever worried about this. Furthermore, we would have co-control,” added the CEO.
To an objection to the fact that Generali could make an agreement in asset management with an Italian company, he said that “there are no comparable opportunities in Italy” and that "at the time of the sale of Pioneer, we looked at the dossier but the board of directors decided not to go ahead. It was 2016, the conditions were not yet there, the asset management strategy was in its infancy".
