Predictably, the siege by Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone and Leonardo DelVecchio a Mediobanca moves up Generali, the main and most coveted participation of Piazzetta Cuccia: the two rebel partners, backed by Benetton and the Crt, aim to sterilize the CEO of the Lion, Philippe Donnet, and then to replace it in the spring, despite the good financial results and the good stock market performance of Generali under the guidance of the current number one.
We will see if already in Generali board meeting on 2 August the clash will explode, but, as he reports this morning La Repubblica, the rebel partners are preparing to ask Donnet to postpone two crucial appointments: the presentation of the list issued by the outgoing board of directors for the renewal of top management of the company in the spring assembly and the anticipation, scheduled for December, of new business plan predicted by Donnet himself.
The reason is obvious: Caltagirone, which owns 5,7% of Generali, e Del Vecchio, which holds 4,8%, supported by Benetton (3,9%) and Savings Bank of Turin (1,6%), represent approx 16% of the Trieste company: they therefore outnumber the first single shareholder, i.e. Mediobanca, which holds 13%, and they intend lay down the law over the Lion, where so far the Piazzetta Cuccia institute has had good times and bad times. Now actions are counted and not weighed, Caltagirone and Del Vecchio seem to say what they want neutralize the role of Mediobanca in Trieste and have their say both on the next appointments and on the future business plan. Albert Nagel, the CEO of Mediobanca, thus finds himself in a very awkward position both because he has to face the siege of the institution in which Del Vecchio already has 19% and Caltagirone is contemplating rising to 5%, and because the rebel shareholders explicitly aim dictating the rules of the game not only in Piazzetta Cuccia but also and above all in Generali.
Philippe Donnet, the French top manager who recently also took on Italian citizenship, is however not a compliant type and it is entirely unlikely that he will let himself be unseated without a fight. For the new industrial plan, there is time to decide at least until December, but on the right to present for the first time a list of candidates for the next board of directors assembled, as already happens in Mediobanca, by the outgoing board, it will be difficult for Donnet to do reverse. Beyond the different governance philosophies, letting the list of the future Generali board of directors be prepared by the shareholders rather than by the outgoing directors would mean, at this moment, handing over Donnet's head to Caltagirone and Del Vecchio and one cannot ask the Leo's current number one to leave the field without facing battle. That's why the next board meeting of 2 August already becomes a probable first litmus test and here's why the bag will continue to keep the spotlight on Generali but also on Mediobanca: yesterday the two titles passed with flying colours, as it always does when things get rough.
