Latest news with #PhilippeDonnet
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Monte dei Paschi's bid for Mediobanca lacks industrial logic, Generali CEO says
ROME (Reuters) -Monte dei Paschi di Siena's (MPS) bid for Mediobanca makes no industrial sense, the chief executive of insurer Generali said in an interview on Wednesday, adding that the bid was aimed at taking charge of his company. "The industrial logic is not clear, many have expressed doubts" (about the offer), Generali CEO Philippe Donnet told daily la Repubblica. "It is clear" that Monte dei Paschi's takeover is geared towards taking control of Generali, Donnet said, given that some shareholders own significant stakes in both the Italian banks and in the insurer. "I see this as a very negative scenario, it would be dangerous for a healthy management of the group. The company need to stay Italian, independent and international," he added. Construction magnate Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone and investment company Delfin recently acquired nearly 20% of Monte dei Paschi. They together hold 27% of Mediobanca and 17% of Generali. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
7 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Monte dei Paschi's bid for Mediobanca lacks industrial logic, Generali CEO says
ROME, June 4 (Reuters) - Monte dei Paschi di Siena's (MPS) ( opens new tab bid for Mediobanca ( opens new tab makes no industrial sense, the chief executive of insurer Generali ( opens new tab said in an interview on Wednesday, adding that the bid was aimed at taking charge of his company. "The industrial logic is not clear, many have expressed doubts" (about the offer), Generali CEO Philippe Donnet told daily la Repubblica. "It is clear" that Monte dei Paschi's takeover is geared towards taking control of Generali, Donnet said, given that some shareholders own significant stakes in both the Italian banks and in the insurer. "I see this as a very negative scenario, it would be dangerous for a healthy management of the group. The company need to stay Italian, independent and international," he added. Construction magnate Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone and investment company Delfin recently acquired nearly 20% of Monte dei Paschi. They together hold 27% of Mediobanca and 17% of Generali.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Generali operating result climbs 8.9% in Q1 2025
Generali has reported a consolidated operating result of €2.1bn in the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2025), up 8.9% from €1.9bn reported in Q1 2024, driven by strong performance in the property and casualty (P&C) segment. The P&C operating result surged by 18.7% to more than €1bn, with the Life operating result increasing by 2.3% to €992m. The Italian insurer's adjusted net result stood at €1.2bn for the quarter, a 7.6% increase from Q1 2024. Its adjusted earnings per share rose 9.4%, reaching €0.79 in Q1 2025 from €0.73 a year earlier. Gross written premiums (GWP) were €26.5bn for the quarter ended 31 March 2025, a rise of 0.2% from the previous year. The group's Life GWP contributed €16.2bn, a 4.5% year-on-year decline, while P&C GWP grew by 8.6% to €10.4bn. Its combined ratio improved to 89.7% for the quarter, a decrease of 1.4 percentage points from the previous year. Generali Group CFO Cristiano Borean said: 'In this first quarter, Generali achieved continued strong growth in both operating and adjusted net result, showing a very positive start to our new strategic plan, 'Lifetime Partner 27: Driving Excellence', thanks to the contribution of all business segments. 'Our diversified profit sources and solid capital position driven by excellent cash generation will allow the Group to successfully implement the new strategic plan and create value for all our stakeholders.' Generali's outlook plan, "Lifetime Partner 27: Driving Excellence," aims to accelerate profitable growth in the Life business by leveraging its extensive customer base and distribution network. It also focuses on enhancing technical proficiency, profitability and effectiveness by scaling assets across the value chain. The company has outlined a clear capital management framework, with a commitment to shareholder returns that includes more than €7bn in cumulative dividends (2025–27), a €1.5bn share buyback over the plan horizon and a €500m buyback. Last month, Philippe Donnet was reappointed as CEO of Generali for a further three years following a shareholder vote. "Generali operating result climbs 8.9% in Q1 2025 " was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Mayor
26-04-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Generali has become a little harder to shove offstage
Unlock the Editor's Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. In a dress rehearsal, minor slip-ups are easily forgiven. But the cast's performance — sparkling or shabby as it may be — does set the tone for the main event. That is one way to read events at Italy's Generali, where key shareholder Mediobanca won control of the insurer's board of directors earlier this week. Its slate, which confirmed existing chief executive Philippe Donnet, gained the support of much of the international shareholder base. The rival faction — captained by rebel shareholders Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone and the Luxottica family holding company Delfin — gained little sway beyond local allies. All this may well have been an exercise in theatrics. After all, Mediobanca itself is under siege. It faces a hostile offer from the world's oldest bank, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, in which Delfin and Caltagirone hold significant stakes. Should Mediobanca's defences be breached, that might bring its key stake in Generali into their orbit and give them another run at control of the insurer. Generali's newly appointed board does not expire until 2028, but the fiery rebels could conceivably call an extraordinary shareholder meeting to try to ram their candidates through earlier. Mediobanca's victory earlier this week may slow their roll. True, the result came about — at least partly — through an own goal from the Caltagirone crowd. Had their six-candidate slate garnered the most votes, the resulting board would have been unwieldy and tricky to manage. That likely prompted international investors to throw their lot in with Mediobanca. Read More Annuities look sexy again: should Barbie buy one at 64? Yet the fact that international shareholders played nice with Mediobanca may also reflect the fact that Generali is by no means in urgent need of a fix. Indeed, it has gradually been making up the ground it lost to European rivals. Since 2016, when Donnet took the helm, the group's net income has risen by almost 80 per cent, well above Axa and Allianz. And over the past year Generali's stock — undoubtedly also frothed up by the shareholder battle — has comfortably outperformed that of European rivals. There are bound to be quibbles, of course. Generali's deal to merge its asset management arm with France's Natixis, for example, has attracted much local wailing. But the insurer's solid performance deprives rebel shareholders of at least one good reason to upend the board ahead of time. None of this may matter when the time comes. Pending the outcome of the bunfight at Mediobanca, challengers may end up with the votes to shove their candidates through willy-nilly. But their poor performance at the practice run spotlights the weakness of their script.
Business Mayor
24-04-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Mediobanca scores significant victory in fight for control of Generali
Unlock the Editor's Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Generali shareholders overwhelmingly backed chief executive Philippe Donnet for another three-year term, a significant victory for the insurer's largest shareholder Mediobanca with wider implications for Italian politics and finance. Mediobanca's slate of board candidates secured 52 per cent of the vote, giving them all 10 of the seats they put forward. The minority list proposed by construction tycoon Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone only secured 37 per cent, which translated to just three seats. The defeat for Caltagirone, the third-largest investor in Generali, and an ally of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, is the second time that the billionaire's ambition to overhaul the management of Italy's biggest insurer has been thwarted. Donnet also successfully defended his seat against a challenge from Caltagirone in a 2022 management fight, in which Caltagirone was backed by Generali's now second-largest shareholder Delfin, the holding company of late Italian billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio. Caltagirone and Delfin together form part of a web of crossholdings in Italian finance, where developments at one company can have implications for control of another. They are together supporting a hostile attempt by Monte dei Paschi di Siena to take over Mediobanca. The show of support for Mediobanca at the Generali meeting strengthens the Milanese bank's hand in its efforts to fight off the hostile bid. The vote was further complicated by the presence on Generali's shareholder register of UniCredit, which is currently attempting to complete its own domestic takeover of Banco BPM. UniCredit, which had rapidly built a 6.7 per cent stake in Generali ahead of the meeting — of which only 5 per cent had been disclosed before Thursday — sided with Caltagirone. By supporting Caltagirone, UniCredit indicated that it was seeking to appease Italy's government amid tensions over its attempted takeover of BPM. Last week, the Italian government imposed stringent requirements on the BPM deal, including a specific loan to deposit ratio for the next five years and a full Russia exit within nine months, which threatens to derail the transaction. UniCredit said this week its bid was in limbo as it seeks to clarify the details of the prescriptions with Rome. The Italian government retains a stake in MPS, which it bailed out in 2017, and has been keen to use the lender as a vehicle to create a strong third competitor to rival Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit domestically. Last week MPS shareholders, which also include Caltagirone and Delfin, overwhelmingly backed chief executive Luigi Lovaglio's proposed acquisition of Mediobanca. If the bid were to succeed, MPS would end up controlling Mediobanca's 13 per cent stake in Generali. Although Lovaglio told a London conference in March the stake was not 'crucial' to his plan to create a third large domestic banking group, analysts have said the deal has little industrial rationale. Critics have suggested it is ultimately aimed at helping Caltagirone seize control of the insurance group after failed bids to unseat Donnet.
