Articles by Sonia Sirletti , Daniele Lepido and Tommaso Ebhardt

Generali CEO’s Strategic Wishlist Includes €10 Billion Deals

Assicurazioni Generali SpA is analyzing a range of potential takeover candidates as part of the insurer’s growth plans, with some of them worth more than €10 billion ($10.9 billion), according to people familiar with the matter. The Italian insurer would …

Generali Weighs Deal With U.S. Asset Manager Guggenheim Partners

Assicurazioni Generali SpA is exploring a deal with US investment firm Guggenheim Partners to bolster its asset management business, according to people familiar with the matter. Italy’s biggest insurer has held informal talks on options ranging from a full acquisition …

Del Vecchio’s Successor Shares Same Vision for Building Generali Into European Leader

Leonardo Del Vecchio’s right-hand man was named on Monday to succeed the Italian billionaire — who died last week — as chairman of the family’s Delfin holding company. Francesco Milleri, the 63-year-old appointed on June 28 to follow Del Vecchio …

Generali Investor Del Vecchio Dies at 87

Leonardo Del Vecchio, the Italian entrepreneur who started off with a tiny optics workshop in the Dolomite mountains and ended up as the undisputed world leader in eyewear, has died. He was 87. His death was confirmed on Monday by …

Generali Investor Del Vecchio Backs Change in Insurer’s Leadership

Italian tycoon Leonardo Del Vecchio is backing a push for a change in leadership at Assicurazioni Generali SpA, saying that a proposed slate of new managers put forward by investor Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone could free the way for a major …

Generali CEO Plans to Restructure Top Management: Sources

Assicurazioni Generali SpA Chief Executive Officer Philippe Donnet is seeking to overhaul the top ranks at Italy’s largest insurer to increase control on key businesses and speed up growth, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The CEO, whose …

Billionaire Del Vecchio Seeks to Raise Stake in Generali’s Biggest Investor, Mediobanca

Italian eyewear billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio stepped up his efforts to become a bigger player in Italy’s finance industry, asking for approval to raise his stake in Mediobanca SpA to as much as 20%. The shares jumped as much as …

Atlantia CEO Resigns 13 Months After Fatal Genoa Bridge Collapse

Atlantia SpA Chief Executive Officer Giovanni Castellucci resigned as leader of the Benetton family infrastructure unit, 13 months after a fatal bridge collapse in Genoa sparked an investigation into maintenance practices. Castellucci, who spearheaded Atlantia’s transformation into the world’s biggest …

Generali in Early Negotiations to Buy MetLife’s Central European Assets: Sources

Assicurazioni Generali SpA is in early talks to buy the Central European assets of MetLife Inc. as the Italian insurer seeks to expand through acquisitions in high-growth markets, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The business may be …

Benetton Family’s Wealth Drops by $2B After Genoa Bridge Disaster

Fallout from the Genoa bridge disaster has erased about $2 billion of net worth from one of Italy’s richest families. The billionaire Benettons control 30.25 percent of Atlantia SpA, the construction company and toll-road owner that operated the Morandi Bridge …