Ray-Ban feud threatens to derail clan’s next investment ambition

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Any major project built around Generali would test whether Milleri can maintain support from the bickering clan.

Italy’s Del Vecchio family made billions from designer eyeglasses, while deftly riding a wave of deals sweeping the country’s banking industry.

Now the executives running the family’s €45 billion ($50 billion) holding company, Delfin Sarl, are positioning it to benefit from its biggest financial investment, a nearly €7 billion holding in the nation’s largest insurer, Assicurazioni Generali SpA. That’s if feuding family members and a Czech billionaire don’t knock them off track.

Delfin, led by Chairman Francesco Milleri and Chief Executive Officer Romolo Bardin, is open to supporting strategic efforts, should they emerge over time, to expand Generali and make it more international, according to people familiar with the matter. Those could include acquisitions by Generali, participating in a capital increase or backing a broader combination if a credible industrial proposal is made, the people said, asking not to be named discussing a private matter.

Before Delfin can get behind a plan, someone else will need to put one forward, the people added. It isn’t preparing a proposal of its own, but with its Generali stake, strong liquidity and a long history with other major Italian shareholders, would have a strong hand to play, the people said.

Against the backdrop of dealmaking, Milleri is also contending with a destructive family dynamic, with legal disputes and some Del Vecchio heirs pressing for an exit from the financial investments to concentrate on EssilorLuxottica SA, the anchor of the family’s fortune.

So far, the family friction hasn’t derailed Delfin’s investment strategy. But one of the heirs, Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, has emerged as a scathing critic and called on the Delfin chairman to focus on his role as CEO of the family’s original holding, the Ray-Ban manufacturer.

Leonardo Maria has stepped up the pressure on Milleri through public statements and various attempts, so far unsuccessful, to expand his Delfin stake by buying out other family members.

Delfin has…

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