Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio (in the photo) is selling properties in the heart of Milan, is still negotiating with banks the 10 billion mega-financing to increase his stake to 37.5% in Delfin and meanwhile is expanding the pool of involved institutions. In the background remain tensions among the heirs, Rocco Basilico’s appeal, and the issue of guarantees requested by the institutions.
There is a building on Via Turati, in Milan, which has just become the headquarters of the family office. And there are two floors on Via Monte Napoleone, in the heart of the Quadrilatero. Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio has put them on the market just as he tries to close the most important deal of the succession built by his father: the purchase of 25% of Delfin from his siblings Luca and Paola Del Vecchio.
As reported by the Corriere della Sera, his Lmdv Capital has initiated the sale of the six-story building on Via Turati for an estimated value of around 58 million euros. The property also houses Twiga and should generate a capital gain of about 34 million. The structure will still be rented by Lmdv Capital for eight years, renewable for another eight. Also on the market are the two floors of the former headquarters on Via Monte Napoleone, valued at about 20 million thanks to the real estate appeal of the area.
Formally, it is an asset rotation. An ordinary operation for a company that buys, enhances, and then monetizes. But the timing tells a different story. Because these disposals come as Del Vecchio Jr. tries to convince the banking system to secure the financing needed for the internal takeover of Delfin. The move, as the Corriere writes, seems indeed “a signal to the banks”: the future master of the family safe wants to show liquidity availability and willingness to strengthen his asset profile.
The deal is enormous. Through the vehicle Lmdv Fin, Leonardo Maria aims to increase his stake from 12.5% to 37.5% in Delfin, the holding company that holds 38.4% of EssilorLuxottica, as well as stakes in Generali, Monte dei Paschi, Mediobanca, and Unicredit. A transaction worth about 10 billion euros and which should be financed by a pool composed of Unicredit, Crédit Agricole, and BNP Paribas.
But the dossier is not yet closed. The banks continue to take their time. Also because meanwhile the net asset value of Delfin has dropped below 45 billion, due to the decline in EssilorLuxottica’s stock from the highs reached in recent months. This is one of the factors that pushed the institutions to revise the financing conditions, especially regarding guarantees.
The main issue concerns precisely the pledge on the shares. Today the guarantees would be limited to the 25% of Delfin that Leonardino will acquire from his siblings. But this may not be enough for the banks.
On the table is indeed the request to extend personal guarantees and to define a sort of minimum threshold value for EssilorLuxottica stock below which additional protections for the lending institutions would be triggered. A delicate topic, because much of the wealth of the Delfin galaxy depends precisely on the performance of the Franco-Italian eyewear group.
To reassure the banking pool, Francesco Milleri, chairman of Delfin and CEO of EssilorLuxottica, would have directly intervened, illustrating to the banks the industrial prospects of the group and future growth trajectories. The same Milleri who, meanwhile, must also face a personal matter in the Del Vecchio succession: the manager has initiated a lawsuit to unblock the transfer of over 2 million EssilorLuxottica shares that the founder had left him as inheritance.
Negotiations with the banks therefore proceed on multiple levels. On one side, there is the technical structure of the financing. On the other, the political-financial issue: understanding how stable the new Delfin setup is and how sustainable the debt Leonardo Maria is preparing to take on is. The operation would indeed entail an annual interest cost of around 400 million euros.
For this reason, alongside talks with Unicredit, Crédit Agricole, and BNP Paribas, Del Vecchio Jr. is reportedly trying to broaden the range of involved institutions. As reported by MF , other financial entities have been contacted precisely to expand the pool intended to support the mega financing. Leonardo Maria would also be simplifying the structure of Lmdv Fin to make the operation more straightforward and bankable.
All this while time is running out. The goal remains to close by June 27, the fourth anniversary of Leonardo Del Vecchio’s death. But the schedule is increasingly weighed down by the appeal filed in Luxembourg by Rocco Basilico, son of Nicoletta Zampillo and half-brother of Leonardo Maria.
Basilico challenged the resolutions of the Delfin assembly of April 27, contesting both the transfer of 25% of the holding to Leonardo Maria and the change in dividend policy. According to the appeal, to approve the transfer a majority greater than the 88% provided by the statute for certain extraordinary operations would have been required, while the assembly considered the 75% quorum sufficient.
There is also the second front, even more sensitive for the banks: the increase in payout. Basilico also contests the decision to set a minimum distribution equal to 80% of net profits in the 2025-2027 three-year period. A change that, according to the appellant, would mainly serve to guarantee Leonardo Maria the dividend flow necessary to support the debt burden contracted to buy the siblings’ shares.
If the legal framework were to become complicated or if the market were to further penalize EssilorLuxottica, the entire structure could become more fragile.
In parallel, however, optimism is filtering from the Delfin front. The idea explained to the banks would be that of a bridge solution: the financing would have an initial duration of 18 months and, at a later stage, Delfin itself could repurchase part of the shares currently held by Leonardo Maria through a buyback, then redistributing them among shareholders or guiding the holding towards a possible stock market listing. A prospect that would also serve to reassure institutions about the temporary nature of the exposure.
In the background also remains the issue of the holding’s banking stakes, which according to some reconstructions could be partly disposed of should the Italian financial reshuffle enter a new phase.
