Four Shareholders Reject Del Vecchio Offer to Buy Stakes in Delfin
Key Facts
Four shareholders in Delfin have refused to consider Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio’s proposal to buy their stakes or discuss the deal, according to a letter cited by AGI and reported by Reuters on November 3, 2026. The stance poses an obstacle to Del Vecchio’s effort to increase his stake in the holding company, which owns 34.5% of EssilorLuxottica, alongside investments in MPS, Generali and UniCredit. The shareholders said in the letter that they were “not interested in considering or discussing the proposed deal.” The dissenters are Rocco Basilico, Paola Del Vecchio, Clemente Del Vecchio and Luca Del Vecchio, according to ANSA on November 2. The refusal comes as Del Vecchio has requested a meeting with the other shareholders to present details of his plan.
Delfin’s ownership structure includes eight heirs of Leonardo Del Vecchio, each holding a 12.5% stake, according to ANSA. The agency estimates the holding company’s value at about 29.6 billion euros under the purchase proposal, including the stakes held by Leonardo Maria and his mother. The distribution reflects the broad group of parties whose agreement is required to complete the effort to buy the stakes, while four of them explicitly rejected it in the letter. Delfin owns a 34.5% stake in EssilorLuxottica, as well as stakes in MPS, Generali and UniCredit. Reuters estimated the combined market value of Delfin’s investments in EssilorLuxottica, Generali, Monte dei Paschi and UniCredit at about 43 billion euros in a report published on November 3.
The plan includes more than one payment structure; one option calls for 30% to be paid immediately in cash, with the remaining 70% settled in EssilorLuxottica shares after 12 to 14 months, according to ANSA. The structure would give sellers a mix of immediate liquidity and deferred shares, but the four shareholders have said they do not want to discuss the proposed deal. Del Vecchio requested a meeting with the shareholders by November 7 to explain the details of his plan. The deadline is a near-term milestone in his effort to present the proposal to the heirs, amid their current refusal to enter into discussions about it. The letter rejecting the proposal did not indicate acceptance of any of the proposed forms of consideration.
Del Vecchio made his proposal, according to Reuters, with the aim of “protecting the legacy his father built.” The effort follows an earlier attempt in 2026 to buy the stakes of two shareholders in a deal valued at about 10 billion euros; it did not proceed after the banks backing it failed to obtain the guarantees needed to provide financing. In April 2026, Del Vecchio was seeking to buy an additional 25% stake from his siblings, which would have lifted his targeted total stake to 37.5%, according to a Reuters report on April 22. These attempts show that buying stakes remained central to his moves during the year, while the earlier bid ended after the guarantee arrangements fell through.
The dispute over the stakes follows a 30 billion euro offer by Czech businessman Michal Strnad to buy Delfin in the week before Reuters’ report published on November 3. Reuters has meanwhile described Delfin as a long-term investor in its companies despite disagreements among family members. The shareholders’ refusal puts ownership and governance at the holding company at the center of attention, given its stakes in financial and insurance companies and EssilorLuxottica. EssilorLuxottica depositary receipts trading under the ticker ESLOY closed at $104.93 on November 2, according to EL7 data. The next announced step remains Del Vecchio’s request for a meeting before November 7, with no outcome of that meeting included in the available information.