By Claudia Cristoferi and Gianluca Semeraro MILAN, Jan 7 (R
By Claudia Cristoferi and Gianluca Semeraro
MILAN, Jan 7 (Reuters) – Eyewear tycoon Leonardo Del Vecchio, who owns 1.9% of UniCredit, opposes the financial institution taking up rival Monte dei Paschi and is in contact with different giant Italian traders who share his issues, two folks near the matter mentioned.
Rome is attempting to cut back its 64% stake in Monte dei Paschi (MPS) BMPS.MI, after spending 5.four billion euros in a 2017 bailout of the world’s oldest financial institution.
MPS now wants as much as one other 2.5 billion euros ($three billion) to bolster its funds and Italy sees UniCredit CRDI.MI as the perfect associate, sources have mentioned.
However the Milanese financial institution is on the lookout for a brand new boss after CEO Jean Pierre Mustier mentioned he would step down by April after clashing with its board over technique.
Mustier, who favoured returning money to traders over dealmaking, had set robust situations for a possible MPS acquisition, sources have mentioned.
The selection of his alternative as CEO could have implications for any potential MPS deal, with many shareholders in UniCredit fretting about any candidate perceived as too near the federal government, monetary sources have mentioned.
Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Thursday that Del Vecchio had held conferences with two different main shareholders in UniCredit, Fondazione CariVerona and Fondazione CRT. Del Vecchio is the 85-year-old billionaire founding father of eyewear large EssilorLuxottica ESLX.PA and in addition the main investor in Mediobanca MDBI.MI.
The three shareholders, which have a mixed UniCredit holding of 5.36%, want to kind a pact to have a larger say within the alternative of a brand new CEO and stave off a possible MPS deal, the every day newspaper mentioned.
UniCredit, Del Vecchio’s holding firm Delfin, and the 2 foundations declined to touch upon the report.
One of many sources confirmed that the three UniCredit shareholders had held talks and mentioned additionally they had reservations over an acquisition of loss-making MPS, including that it was too quickly to talk of any shareholder accord.
The supply mentioned one approach to steer UniCredit away from any MPS deal could be to again another merger.
UniCredit had held preliminary merger talks with Banco BPM BAMI.MI final 12 months that got here to nothing.
Rome is engaged on plans to make an MPS takeover extra palatable to UniCredit and its shareholders and two folks acquainted with the matter informed Reuters on Tuesday that Italy might tackle about 14 billion euros in impaired loans from UniCredit through state-backed mortgage supervisor AMCO.
The second supply mentioned some UniCredit traders, whereas sceptical about an MPS deal, could possibly be keen to judge the situations put ahead by Rome.
UniCredit is predicted to select a brand new CEO in February whereas a shortlist of candidates might emerge round mid-January when the financial institution’s nomination committee and the board are resulting from meet, three folks acquainted with the matter have mentioned.
One of many folks mentioned the financial institution was on the lookout for a candidate with robust worldwide credentials consistent with indications Chairman-elect Pier Carlo Padoan, a former financial system minister, had obtained from traders in current conferences.
($1 = 0.8160 euros)
(Further reporting by Valentina Za and Andrea Mandala; Modifying by Jane Merriman and Alexander Smith)
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