€22 Billion in Financing Backs Del Vecchio’s Bid to Buy Delfin Stakes
Key Facts
Reuters reported, citing a person close to Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, that he had secured a financing package from Citi of up to €22 billion to buy stakes from other shareholders in Delfin. The offer targets five or six stakes in the holding company, giving Del Vecchio greater influence over its decisions, which have remained largely in the hands of its board. Reuters said Citi did not comment on the financing. The bid comes amid a competing offer from Czech investor Michal Strnad to buy all of Delfin for €30 billion, according to the context of Reuters reports cited by Euronext. Del Vecchio said that "my father's life's work must remain part of Italy's heritage" after being informed of the foreign investor's offer.
Del Vecchio's offer is a route to buying specific stakes from shareholders, while Strnad's offer targets the acquisition of the entire company. A Reuters report put the combined market value of Delfin's investments in EssilorLuxottica, Generali, Monte dei Paschi di Siena and UniCredit at about €43 billion on October 29. That is a measure of the market value of those investments, not a stated price for Delfin itself. Delfin is EssilorLuxottica's largest shareholder and also owns stakes in the Italian insurance and banking companies mentioned. That puts the decision over Delfin's ownership at the center of the future of an investment portfolio spanning eyewear, insurance and banking.
The contest for Delfin comes as revenue grows at EssilorLuxottica, one of the holding company's most prominent investments. The group's revenue was €7,486 million in the third quarter of 2026, up 7.2% year over year at constant exchange rates and 9.0% at current exchange rates, according to the company's statement. The difference between the growth rates reflects the calculation of revenue at constant or current exchange rates, with both comparisons against the third quarter of 2025. In the first nine months of 2026, revenue rose to €22,304 million, up 6.8% year over year at current exchange rates and 8.9% at constant exchange rates. The results provide an operating backdrop for Delfin's investments, while the competing offers concern ownership of the holding company itself.
Del Vecchio's proposal was not limited to an immediate purchase; ANSA reported that he also put forward options to spread the purchase over a longer period. He called on shareholders to meet to explain the project, proposing to meet them, together or individually, by November 7. Delfin did not comment on the offer to buy the siblings' stakes, and sources close to Rocco Basilico also did not comment, ANSA reported. The proposed date gives shareholders an opportunity to discuss how the deal would be carried out and its terms, while the available information contains no publicly stated position from Delfin or sources close to Basilico. The expected meeting remains the next development in the bid with a specified timeline.
Earlier in 2026, an attempt by LMDV Fin to buy a 25% stake in Delfin owned by Paula and Luca Del Vecchio for €10 billion stalled. ANSA said the attempt was not completed because no guarantee letter was issued. The precedent highlights a difference from the financing reported by Reuters for the new offer, whose package totals up to €22 billion, without implying that the purchase has been completed or that shareholders have approved it. In the letter cited by ANSA, Del Vecchio proposed either completing the purchase immediately or using options spread over a longer period. Shareholders' response and the outcome of the meeting he called for by November 7 remain the next steps in the offer.