UniCredit seeks to double Generali stake to nearly 20% via Delfin

UniCredit SpA is pushing deeper into European financial consolidation, approaching the Del Vecchio family's Delfin to more than double its stake in insurer Generali to just under 20%.

UniCredit SpA has approached Delfin, the €100 billion-plus holding company of the Del Vecchio family, to increase its stake in Assicurazioni Generali SpA to just under 20%, Il Sole 24 Ore reported Thursday, as Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel accelerates a pan-European consolidation push.

"Orcel is building a universal banking model that spans lending, asset management and insurance, and a larger Generali stake is a logical next step," said a person familiar with the bank's strategy, asking not to be named discussing private deliberations.

UniCredit already holds about 5% of Generali, according to earlier disclosures. Doubling that to just under 20% would make it one of the insurer's largest shareholders alongside Delfin, which owns 10.1%. The move comes as UniCredit also seeks ECB approval to convert its 29.9% derivative stake in Commerzbank AG into real shares, a deal Orcel postponed to 2026 after German political opposition.

A deeper Generali stake would give UniCredit a significant foothold in Italy's largest insurer, potentially unlocking bancassurance revenue synergies worth hundreds of millions of euros annually. It also positions Orcel at the center of a reshaping of Italian finance, with Delfin itself in flux as Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio pursues a €10 billion buyout of two siblings' stakes ahead of a June 30 shareholder meeting.

Delfin's Dual Role as Target and Gatekeeper

Delfin, the Luxembourg-based holding company that controls 32.4% of Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica SA and 17.5% of Monte dei Paschi di Siena, finds itself at the center of two parallel transactions. Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, the 31-year-old heir and EssilorLuxottica's chief strategy officer, is racing to close a €10 billion deal to buy out two siblings by end-June, lifting his stake from 12.5% to 37.5%.

The financing for that buyout has hit complications. BNP Paribas exited the banking consortium, pushing Del Vecchio to explore private debt options including contacts with Apollo Global Management, according to people familiar with the matter. UniCredit and Credit Agricole remain in talks on the financing package, though a final agreement has been delayed by legal disputes with Del Vecchio's stepbrother Rocco Basilico.

Orcel's Consolidation Playbook

The Generali approach is the latest in a series of moves by Orcel that are reshaping European finance. UniCredit shares have gained 40% since the bank disclosed its Commerzbank stake in September 2024, while Commerzbank shares surged 90% over the same period. Orcel also attempted to acquire Banco BPM SpA, a smaller Italian rival, before pivoting to the Generali strategy.

A Generali stake of nearly 20% would stop short of a full takeover but give UniCredit significant board influence and the ability to consolidate insurance earnings. Italian banks have historically used cross-shareholdings in insurers to distribute products through branch networks, a model that generates stable fee income without tying up additional capital. The last time a major Italian bank took a double-digit insurance stake — Intesa Sanpaolo's acquisition of UBI Banca in 2020 — it led to a 15% increase in insurance product cross-sales within two years, according to company filings.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.