UniCredit Raises Generali Stake as CEO Orcel Seeks Deals Influence

UniCredit SpA has expanded its holding in Italy’s largest insurer, potentially giving Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel more influence in future deals.

Orcel said Tuesday during UniCredit’s fourth-quarter earnings call that the bank now controls more than 5% in Assicurazioni Generali SpA through a mix of direct holdings and on behalf of clients. He didn’t say whether the increased stake happened through shares it owns fully or only holds for others.

UniCredit previously disclosed a 4.1% stake in Generali while saying it manages another 0.6% on behalf of third parties.

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Orcel reiterated he considers the Generali stake as a “financial” investment and doesn’t plan to buy the insurance firm.

A holding in Generali affords Orcel with a potential bargaining chip in a deal wave washing across Italy’s financial services sector in which various parties have recently sought to boost their positions in the upcoming negotiations.

A stake of more than 4.8% in Generali would turn UniCredit into the insurer’s fourth largest investor, behind Mediobanca SpA and the billionaire Del Vecchio and Caltagirone families. The Del Vecchios and Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone are also Mediobanca’s largest shareholders and they have recently raised their stakes in Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, which in turn is seeking to buy Mediobanca.

Meanwhile, Orcel is pursuing a takeover of domestic rival, Banco BPM SpA. The Italian government had been hoping to use that lender to privatize Monte Paschi with the help of the billionaires and create a new large Italian bank.

When asked by an analyst about the rationale behind the increased Generali stake, Orcel remained cryptic. “It is something that at this point in time makes sense,” he said.

Photograph: The Unicredit headquarters in Milan, Italy. Photo credit: Francesca Volpi/Bloomberg