Why will Donnet torpedo de Courtois in Generali?
What happens in Assicurazioni Generali led by the French Donnet? Are Italian members and palaces pushing against France? Fiorina Capozzi's article
Something is moving in the Generali house. The managing director, Philippe Donnet, is finalizing a reorganization of the first managerial lines. Officially, the goal is to try to bring order to make the insurance company's strategies more efficient and effective after the impact of Covid. Reviewing the managerial "chain of control", the French manager would feel safer.
WHAT BLOOMBERG WRITTEN ABOUT DONNET AND DE COURTOIS
For this reason, according to Bloomberg reports, Donnet could ask for a step back to the general manager Frederic de Courtois , former number one of the rival Axa in Italy. Without excluding the possibility of also replacing the financial director close to him, Timothy Ryan.
THE TIMES OF DONNET'S CHOICES IN GENERAL
It will not take long to verify Donnet's intentions, who should present himself with his proposals to the board of directors within a couple of weeks.
WHAT IS SAYING IN PARIS
But in Paris there is a rumor that the manager is putting his hands forward because he is worried about a stronger than expected Covid impact that could give rise to criticism from the shareholders. Criticisms that could also question his leadership and his mandate, normally expiring at the end of this year with the board renewed in spring 2022.
DONNET'S PROMISES
Above all because the French manager has promised investors to transform Generali into one of the major players in asset management, positioning itself in the long-term among the top five companies in the sector. Not to mention that, in November , Donnet also confirmed the financial targets for 2021 despite the health emergency.
WHAT THE REPUBLIC HAS WRITTEN ON GENERALI
"For months, some of the members of Generali have felt some discontent about the current management, and if Donnet is not confirmed for the three-year period 2022-2024, the whole team could be called into question", wrote Repubblica .
IS THE FRENCH DONNET MORE ONLY IN ITALY?
Certainly the French manager feels a little more alone in Italy since Unicredit's number one, Jean Pierre Mustier, announced that he will leave Piazza Cordusio at the end of his mandate and the financier Vincent Bolloré has indicated his participation in Mediobanca as non-strategic. which cascade controls 13.46% of Generali.
HOW MEDIOBANCA'S SHAREHOLDERS CHANGE
Not to mention that in the last twelve months the structure of Piazzetta Cuccia has changed considerably with Leonardo del Vecchio who has become the first shareholder with about 12% and with the possibility of reaching 20. And who also owns 5% of the Leone of Trieste, like Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone (5%).
THE SCENARIOS FOR GENERALI
But it is a fact that Generali has been disputed between Italy and France for years. Just as it is certain that while Unicredit is getting married with Mps, the Lion of Trieste remains a coveted prey also by Intesa Sanpaolo, which in 2017 tried to conquer the insurance company with a public exchange offer. At the time the operation was a hole in the water. But nothing excludes that the question may arise again. Maybe with the support of the government and with the help of a united Italian front. In fact, in Roman palaces it is feared that strategic assets such as the Lion of Trieste could change hands in the political confusion.
POLITICAL SUBBUGLES NOT ONLY ON GENERALS
Not surprisingly, in recent days, 80 parliamentarians from Forza Italia, Lega and Fratelli d'Italia have invited the Treasury to monitor the strategic financial assets for the country. These include Assicurazioni Generali which have significant investments in Italian government bonds.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/perche-donnet-silurera-de-courtois-in-generali/ on Thu, 14 Jan 2021 09:25:04 +0000.