The Generali assembly, which met today under the chairmanship of Andrea Sironi, approved with a majority of more than 99% the 2025 budget, the Board of Directors’ proposal for a dividend of 1.64 euros per share, an increase of 14.7% compared to the last financial year, and a new 500 million euro share buyback program to be launched during this year.
As regards the renewal of the Board of Auditors, the Assogestioni list emerged victorious with 72.4% of the votes, while the competing list presented by Caltagirone received 11.5% of the preferences. Therefore, the Presidency will be entrusted to Carlo Schiavone, a candidate taken from the Caltagirone list, while the effective auditors taken from the Assogestioni list are Paolo Ratti and Sara Landini.
Unicredit wins with share increased to 8.72%
UniCredit also participated in the meeting, appearing surprisingly with a share increased to 8.72% from the previous 6.7%, despite the Bank’s CEO, Andrea Orcel, having declared in recent months that Unicredit had significantly reduced its shareholding to below 2%.
The Bank defined it as a “financial investment” that “guarantees an interesting financial return”, explaining that the drop below 2% announced by Orcel in recent months referred to the Group’s exposure, reduced with derivatives through downward hedging. “The overall position – the Bank has now specified – is largely covered, which reduces economic exposure and capital absorption to a minimum”.
The other significant shareholders
Among the other significant shareholders present at the meeting, there were no other surprises. Mps holds 13.19% of the capital through Mediobanca, Delfin, the Del Vecchio family’s financial company, has 10.05%, while the Caltagirone Group holds 6.26% and the Benetton Group 4.86%.
Sironi opens the meeting
“First of all, I would like to extend heartfelt thanks to all the members of the Board of Directors as well as to the management team of our Group for the work carried out with competence, responsibility and a spirit of service”, stated President Andrea Sironi, opening the meeting and addressing particular thanks to the Group CEO Philippe Donnet “for the leadership carried out in the launch of the Lifetime Partner 27: Driving Excellence strategy, in a phase of profound transformation and complexity of the external context, and for the decisive contribution in combining industrial solidity, financial discipline and strategic vision long-term.”
Donnet: Slowly ahead with discipline
“The strength and consistency of the results we have achieved confirm to us that we are executing our plan with the utmost discipline, continuing to create sustainable value for you shareholders and for all our stakeholders,” declared CEO Philippe Donnet, adding “2026 is the central year” of the Plan and “will therefore be a fundamental watershed towards its completion and the achievement of all our objectives”.
