MILAN (Reuters) -Italy’s leading insurer Assicurazioni Generali said on Friday its second biggest investor, Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, has stepped down from the board, opening a new chapter in a long-standing shareholder row.
Caltagirone holds a 9.95% stake in Generali, after beefing up his holding in recent years as tensions mounted between the construction and newspaper magnate and the insurer’s board and its single biggest investor Mediobanca.
Shares in Generali fell 2% by 0915 GMT underperforming a flat Italian blue-chip index due to investor concerns that Caltagirone’s resignation increases the chances he may reduce his stake.
Caltagirone earlier this year challenged a decision by Generali’s board to secure a third mandate for CEO Philippe Donnet but his bid to appoint his own CEO candidate was defeated in a shareholder vote last month.
Caltagirone did secure three board seats for his list of nominees at the general meeting.
Generali said it would call a board meeting in the coming days to take a decision on Caltagirone’s replacement, adding the reasons behind his decision were not known.
A person with knowledge of the matter said Caltagirone had informed Generali of his decision in a letter on Friday. Caltagirone declined to comment.
(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro and Stefano Bernabei; Writing by Valentina Za, editing by Giulia Segreti)
