Billionaire Ray-Ban heir eyes $33B takeover of family firm: report

Key Points:

• Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, heir to the EssilorLuxottica fortune, has launched a $33 billion bid to buy out his family’s holding company Delfin Sarl, backed by a $25 billion loan from Citigroup, aiming to increase his stake from 12.5% to 37.5%.
• His proposal targets the shares of his seven co-owners, including siblings and his mother, as part of a family power struggle over control of the eyewear empire, which owns Ray-Ban, Oakley, and LensCrafters and holds stakes in major banks.
• Czech billionaire Michal Strnad has also submitted a competing $33 billion takeover offer, intensifying the contest for control of the company valued at over $97 billion.
• Leonardo Maria has been a vocal critic of EssilorLuxottica CEO Francesco Milleri, blaming him for the company’s 32% stock decline this year, and has faced setbacks in earlier attempts to secure board support for buying out family members.
• The heir’s personal life has been turbulent, including a broken engagement amid abuse allegations from ex-fiancée Jessica Serfaty, which he denies, and a public paternity dispute; he claims recent tests cleared him of fatherhood and hopes these matters will not further impact his business dealings.