UniCredit held talks with Delfin over MPS stake, sources say

By Giuseppe Fonte, Elvira Pollina and Valentina Za

ROME/MILAN, Jan 12 (Reuters) - UniCredit CRDI.MI CEO Andrea Orcel has discussed potentially buying the stake in Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) BMPS.MI held by Delfin in contacts with the head of the Italian holding company, three people close to the matter told Reuters.

An investment in MPS could put UniCredit back in play in the consolidation reshaping Italian banking after last year's failed attempt to acquire Banco BPM BAMI.MI, another smaller rival.

The sources said UniCredit had also weighed a potential direct investment in Delfin, the holding company of Italy's Del Vecchio family. Delfin declined to comment.

UniCredit is also interested in Delfin's stake in Generali GASI.MI, Italy's biggest insurer, one of the sources added.

UniCredit last year built a holding of nearly 7% in Generali as a financial investment, which it later cut to 2%. Orcel has said UniCredit "is observing" developments at Generali.

The outcome of the talks between Orcel and Delfin Chairman Francesco Milleri was not immediately clear. Reuters could not establish when they took place and whether they are ongoing.

A deal with MPS would strengthen UniCredit's position in consumer finance and increase its banking services for wealthier clients, as well as provide additional capital reserves, Deutsche Bank analysts wrote on Monday.

Delfin belongs in equal parts to the eight heirs of the late billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio.

Orcel and Milleri have frequent contact for several reasons, two other people close to the matter separately said. Orcel sits on the board of the Fondazione Leonardo Del Vecchio charitable foundation and Delfin is a shareholder in UniCredit.

UniCredit still has capital in excess of targeted thresholds, after buying 26% of Germany's Commerzbank CBKG.DE and 29.8% of Greece's Alpha Bank ACBr.AT.

Orcel's M&A efforts have met resistance from the governments in both Rome and Berlin. UniCredit has blamed Italy for derailing the BPM deal.

Reuters reported in November that Italy's government still aimed to see through a long-held plan to combine MPS with BPM. Italy owns 4.9% of MPS after cutting a 68% stake it had acquired in a 2017 bailout.

Delfin's main asset is a 32% stake in eyewear group EssilorLuxottica ESLX.MI. It also owns 17% of MPS, a holding worth 4.6 billion euros, and a 10.5% stake in Generali.