Generali Appeals to Regulators Over Dissident Investors

   By Joshua Kirby and Ed Frankl 
 

Assicurazioni Generali SpA said late Wednesday that it has asked regulators to establish whether a shareholding acquired by a group of investors that sought to challenge the insurer's management and strategy should be subject to prior authorization and other obligations.

Generali said it had submitted the request to Italy's national insurance regulator, IVASS, to ascertain whether a stake acquired by Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, Leonardo Del Vecchio's Delfin Sarl, and Fondazione CRT is subject to prior authorization, per sector rules on coordinated purchases above 10% of total shares.

The three investors had formed a pact in September to challenge the strategy of Generali boss Philippe Donnet. Billionaire investors Caltagirone and EssilorLuxottica chairman Del Vecchio, Generali's second- and third-largest shareholders, respectively, resigned from the company's board in January.

However, the group broke up last week after Caltagirone's companies withdrew from the pact.

Together the group had acquired a stake equal to 16.31% of Generali shares, the company said.

Generali said it has also submitted a request to market regulator Consob to establish whether share purchases by the group are subject to obligations such as the disclosure of future intentions, again applying to shareholdings above 10%.

The insurer said it also wanted to establish "if the rules regarding the disclosure of relevant information to the market have been respected."

Write to Joshua Kirby at [e-mail]; @joshualeokirby and Ed Frankl at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 03, 2022 03:19 ET (08:19 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.