€3.5 Billion Offer for 12.5% Stake in Delfin Rejected
Key Facts
Rocco Basilico rejected an offer from Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio to buy his 12.5% stake in Delfin Holding for €3.5 billion, or about $3.9 billion, Bloomberg reported. La Repubblica quoted Basilico as saying he "does not intend to sell," and said the offer was not considered. The newspaper reported that Basilico viewed the price as too low and also cited doubts about the buyer’s ability to secure financing. The new attempt puts a stake in the holding company in dispute; Delfin owns a large interest in EssilorLuxottica, the eyewear group behind brands including Ray-Ban. The dispute therefore centers on the value of Basilico’s stake and the terms of its transfer, rather than on an offer that sources described as high or carrying a premium.
La Repubblica estimated that the offer was 30% below Delfin’s net asset value and said the company’s investments were worth about €40 billion at market prices. This comparison offers a direct explanation for Basilico’s objection to the price: the proposed amount for his stake is being compared with the value of the holding company’s assets, rather than with the value of the eyewear group’s shares alone. La Stampa, according to a correction to the earlier coverage, reported that the stake had previously been valued at €5 billion. These figures do not provide a single valuation for the stake, but they highlight the gap between the offer and the estimates cited by the newspapers. According to La Repubblica, Basilico’s reasons for rejecting the offer also include his current unwillingness to sell and doubts about Leonardo Maria’s ability to finance the deal.
Delfin owns 32.4% of EssilorLuxottica’s share capital, Reuters reported, making a transfer of a stake within the holding company relevant to the ownership of a major shareholder in the eyewear group. The new attempt follows an earlier effort by Leonardo Maria this year to increase his stake in Delfin: in the spring, he sought to buy a 25% stake from his siblings Luca and Paola for €10 billion. La Repubblica said that deal stalled after Delfin’s board refused to guarantee a buyback of the stake. In April, a shareholders’ meeting approved a proposal to buy the siblings’ stakes by a majority, but completion of the financing was conditional on a broader agreement among shareholders, Reuters reported. The two attempts point to successive efforts to rearrange ownership within Delfin, with company approvals and financing terms remaining part of the deal process.
Financing capacity remains a constraint in Leonardo Maria’s efforts. In June, he said talks on bank financing had stalled after lenders requested additional guarantees, while Delfin’s board was divided, Reuters reported. That context adds background to Basilico’s doubts, reported by La Repubblica, about the buyer’s ability to finance the deal. A report by Il Sole 24 Ore, carried by Radiocor, also said the new offer included closing all ongoing legal disputes with Basilico upon signing the term sheet. This means the offer was not limited to buying the stake, but also linked the move to settling the existing disputes, according to the report. Available reports did not say whether the parties had agreed on a settlement or a revised price.
At the group in which Delfin holds its stake, EssilorLuxottica said revenue from wearables, including smart and audio glasses, rose 20% in the third quarter of 2026. The company launched its Nuance Audio Plus product in September, according to its statement. These operational developments at the group come as the current dispute focuses on Delfin’s ownership, the valuation of its assets and the terms for transferring shares. EssilorLuxottica scheduled the J.P. Morgan Global Luxury and Brands Conference in Paris for November 17, 2026. As for the next move within Delfin, La Repubblica said Leonardo Maria may wait until March 31 to transfer his stake to his company, LMDV Fin, without explicitly specifying the year.