Leonardo Del Vecchio wants Delfin all to himself (and so does the Czech tycoon)

Leonardino shows no sign of stopping; on the contrary, he is stepping it up a gear. Or rather, stepping it up is his strategy: throwing in plenty – perhaps too much – of wood to ensure the fire doesn’t go out. The only thing that can extinguish it is debt. But where does the wood come from? In a letter to QN (the three newspapers formerly owned by Pesenti-Riffeser, of which he is the publisher), the boldest of the Del Vecchio heirs wants to immediately purchase all the Delfin shares held by the other members of the family. “It is the most serious proposal I have ever made,” he declares, claiming to have “the backing of a leading international bank to finance the operation”. He is giving the other shareholders little time: “Let’s meet by 7 November (i.e. next Saturday, ed.) – either all together or individually.” The financing, amounting to no less than 22 billion dollars, would come from none other than Citigroup, the largest bank in the West.

At the time of writing, the response of the other six remains unknown (his mother, Nicoletta Zampillo, is expected to agree), and Romolo Bardin, the CEO of the trust, is reportedly assessing his options. Leonardino’s penultimate move—the offer to buy Il Fatto Quotidiano—was met with less resistance, partly because Marco Travaglio and his partners had already raised the drawbridge. After all, the general consensus was that he wanted to take over the newspaper that had scrutinised his finances in order to bring it under his control. The family is divided over how to manage Leonardo senior’s rich yet burdensome legacy. His mother has sided with Leonardino against his other son, Rocco Basilico, who is leading the resistance. But even Rocco, in essence, wants full access to his share in order to pursue his own financial path.

What is certain is that Delfin needs to resolve an ownership impasse that has effectively persisted since Leonardo’s death, more than four years ago, and has ultimately affected both its strategy and its results. Its main holding, a 32 per cent stake in EssilorLuxottica, continues to provide the bulk of its profits (with a market capitalisation of no less than 86 billion euros), but over the past year the eyewear group’s share price has fallen by 41 per cent on the Paris Stock Exchange. And the internal turmoil at Delfin is partly to blame for this decline. Last Friday’s issue of The Economist reported on the discontent amongst shareholders, which has ultimately spilled over onto the chief executive, Francesco Milleri – formerly a trusted aide to Leonardo senior, who has now been dismissed by his son, despite the latter having once regarded him as a second father. His term expires in April; the board of directors has reaffirmed its confidence in him, but if he no longer has Delfin’s backing, his position will inevitably become weaker.

Dynastic tensions aside, it is Leonardino’s financial standing that is cause for concern. LMDV holds stakes in 22 companies. It controls Quotidiano Nazionale (Il Resto del Carlino, La Nazione, Il Giorno) and holds a 30 per cent stake in Il Giornale. The holding company’s 2025 accounts are not available. The 2024 financial statements reported a meagre net profit of just €31,917, assets of €516 million and liabilities of €358 million, half of which were owed to Del Vecchio himself and half to creditors. Leonardino reported total liabilities of €950 million. LMDV Media is pledged to the banks.

The future of the company is under threat not only from within, but also from outside, with the proposal put forward by the Czech tycoon Michal Strnad, Pirelli’s new major shareholder (who acquired 14 per cent from the Chinese firm Sinochem), who inherited an arms manufacturing group from his father (in Italy, he also owns Fiocchi Munizioni and Perazzi rifles), which is one of Ukraine’s major suppliers. Strnad has offered 30 billion euros for 100 per cent of Delfin, although according to some rumours he might settle for 65 per cent. Is another cornerstone of Italian capitalism falling into foreign hands? If Enrico Cuccia were still around, he would have ensured that the family remained the owners, handing over control to him (or his representative), following the Fiat model. If his associate André Meyer were still around, he would have set up a consortium of investment bankers, perhaps with a touch of government involvement via the CDC (the French equivalent of the CDP), led by someone like Bolloré or Arnault. While we wait for Godot, let us prepare for the next instalment at the weekend.