These are weeks on fire at Assicurazioni Generali. Waiting for a crucial board meeting expected at the end of the month, which will be followed by the new industrial plan in December (the latest from CEO Philippe Donnet?) and above all by the showdown at the shareholders' meeting in the spring, the "rebel" partners Gaetano Caltagirone and Leonardo Del Vecchio have set up a shareholders' agreement with the Cassa di Risparmio di Torino Foundation, which holds only 1,23% of Generali's capital but consolidates a front already represented by the Caltagirone Group and Delfin, which together already exceeded 10%. Now the shareholders' agreement is worth 12,334% of Assicurazioni Generali's share capital represented by shares with voting rights and is now one step away from the 13% of the company's main shareholder, Mediobanca.
"The Shareholders' Agreement - explains a note - establishes the commitment of the Parties to consult each other on the matters on the agenda of the Shareholders' Meeting, with particular reference to the appointment of the new Board of Directors of Assicurazioni Generali. It remains understood that the Parties maintain full autonomy with respect to the decisions to be taken in view of and during the Assembly, including as regards the exercise of the right to vote".
By now, barring mediation in extremis, all the prerequisites for the battle are in place and both Calta-Del Vecchio-Crt on one side and Mediobanca on the other know that they will win only if they win the consent of the large institutional and international funds that they have in hand the future of the company.
Meanwhile Donnet yesterday received the green light from Ivass for the purchase of Cattolica Assicurazioni. To conclude the operation that made Caltagirone turn up their noses and which cost 1,17 billion euros but which strengthened Generali on the domestic market, all that is left now is the final pronouncement from Consob.
