The CEO of Unicredit, Jean-Pierre Mustier, will speak about it to the board of the bank in Piazza Gae Aulenti on Thursday 20 September but there are more and more indications that lead us to believe that the Milanese bank's early exit from Mediobanca's shareholding will not take place . Il Sole 24 Ore thinks so too which, like various analysts, arrives at these conclusions on the basis of two reasons.
The first consideration which leads us to believe that Mustier will not use the September window to exit the Mediobanca syndicate agreement as the first step in leaving the Piazzetta Cuccia institution is linked to the performance of the stock on the Stock Exchange. Mediobanca is currently worth 9,03 euros per share compared to a book value of 10,2 euros for the securities that Unicredit has in its portfolio: now selling the shares of the merchant bank led by Alberto Nagel would mean for Unicredit, which even considers its investment of 8,4% in Piazzetta Cuccia purely "financial", lose about 10% without having the immediate need to sell. But then, observes Il Sole, if at this moment it is convenient for Unicredit to sell the Mediobanca shares, it might as well remain in the Syndicate Agreement until its natural expiry at the end of 2019. All the more - and this is the second consideration - that in the coming months a decisive game will be played for Italian finance such as the renewal of the top management of Generali where Mediobanca, with its 13%, is the first shareholder.
Mustier has repeatedly hoped that the appointments to be made in Generali will allow the insurance company to remain strong, independent and Italian and has never made a secret of appreciating the leadership of the CEO of the Lion, Philippe Donnet, not because he too is French but because the validity of the results achieved and the balance with which he leads Generali. Remaining in Mediobanca, Mustier who aims to make Unicredit increasingly a pan-European bank even if the wedding with the French Socgen is not around the corner, will therefore have the opportunity to make his orientation weigh. And he will also have it in the choice not only of the CEO but also of the future president of Generali, Gabriele Galateri not being able to be renewed for reasons of age, except for complicated statutory changes.
One hypothesis that has covertly surfaced in recent weeks is that, in the event that the statutory amendment to reconfirm Galateri proves unfeasible, Domenico Siniscalco, former Treasury minister and currently country manager and vice president of Morgan Stanley, could be called the chairman of Generali. but also on this Mustier will be decisive.
