Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, one of eight heirs to the late Luxottica founder, has lined up as much as EUR22 billion, or about $24.6 billion, from Citigroup to buy out his relatives’ stakes in Delfin, the family holding company that sits atop one of Europe’s largest fortunes.
A person close to Del Vecchio said Monday that Citi has agreed to back the plan, which targets the stakes of five or six of the other shareholders. Italian press reports said the bank has issued a highly confident letter, meaning the loan still needs formal credit approval, final pricing and conditions before it is binding. Citi declined to comment.
An offer to the siblings
Del Vecchio, who holds 12.5% of Delfin, set out the proposal in a letter to the other heirs published Monday by the QN newspaper group he owns. He offered either an immediate purchase of their holdings or a more gradual buyout spread over time, and proposed meeting them, together or one by one, by Nov. 7. Italian reports put the implied price at about EUR3.7 billion for each 12.5% stake and the annual interest cost to Del Vecchio at roughly EUR450 million.
Luxembourg-based Delfin has net assets of about EUR40 billion. It is the largest shareholder in eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica and holds significant stakes in Generali, UniCredit and Monte dei Paschi di Siena, giving whoever controls it an outsize voice in Italian finance. Since the founder’s death in 2022, the heirs have been split over how the company should be run, and most decisions have rested with its board.
A rival on the table
The financing arrives days after Czech defense billionaire Michal Strnad proposed about EUR30 billion for control of Delfin, an approach the heirs have viewed coolly because it implies a steep discount to net asset value. The family’s internal balance has also been shifting: Clemente Del Vecchio, the youngest heir, recently edged above a 12.5% holding after buying a small block of shares, a move tied to a dispute over the ownership of another heir’s stake. A buyout financed largely with debt would leave Leonardo Maria with a commanding majority but a heavy repayment burden secured against dividends from Delfin’s holdings.
