Del Vecchio to leave in spring?

If the reports in Finanza&Mercati are anything to go by, Leonardo Del Vecchio will leave the direction of Luxottica come spring, and not in a couple of years' time as initially forecast.

The owner should be transferring a considerable share of the company in which he holds a 69% controlling share to top managers: specifically, the Del Vecchio family should get 49% of the stock, while the directors (chief executive Roberto Chemello, head of design and vice-president, Luigi Francavilla, marketing and retail division director, Antonio Miyakawa, head of retail, Valerio Giacobbi, and cfo, Enrico Cavatorta) will get the remaining share through a management buy-out operation.

Luxottica Group, commenting on this speculation, today announced that a plan, aimed at increasing management participation in the Company share capital, is currently under study, but in a preliminary phase. The management participation currently under study will nevertheless be below the mandatory tender offer threshold of 30 percent.