Berlusconi, what will happen to Villa Gernetto? Worth 45 million, it was designated the University of Freedom – WWN
After the hereditary agreements reached on 11 September by the five Berlusconi brothers, the formal steps are now being taken to implement the Knight’s last wishes and, among other things, definitively establish the post-Silvio Berlusconi structure of Fininvest. According to what we learned, this week the brothers prepared the provision, subtracting it from the inheritance, to fulfill the bequests requested by their father: 100 million to Marta Fascina, 100 to her brother Paolo and 30 to Marcello Dell’Utri. It was an apparently thorny chapter, especially the 100 million to Fascina, which now, however, seems to be closing without the slightest disruption.
Villa Gernetto
On the Fininvest front, one of the first inheritance dossiers could be the future of Villa Gernetto, a real estate complex part of the holding’s assets (unlike Arcore and Villa Certosa which are owned by a family real estate company), listed at a value of 44.8 million. The brothers will be able to decide whether to sell the villa in Lesmo, on the outskirts of Monza, or use it for some activities. The group had acquired it 17 years ago from Morgan Stanley which in turn had purchased it from UniCredit. Under Fininvest it had become the symbol of the Knight’s dream of creating the University of Freedom for political education, an online university which also included some face-to-face meetings with international political figures right in the villa of Lesmo, on the outskirts of Monza. A project that remained on paper. Only a few events linked to Publitalia and Monza were held in the house.
The board of directors of Fininvest
As for the governance structures, the boards of directors of the parent company and the financial companies that control it will be convened this week. After which, on November 30th, the extraordinary meetings will be held for the modifications of the statutes, i.e. the September agreements will be transformed into law. And from that moment, even formally, no one will have control of Fininvest individually, but Marina and Pier Silvio Berlusconi together will. This is what their father wanted in attributing to them the available share of the inheritance and thus giving continuity of management to a group that in the last six years has distributed an average of 100 million per year in dividends.
The pact between the Berlusconi brothers
In the pact between the five brothers, however, a shared family governance was defined which includes, among other things, the formal commitment not to sell the Fininvest shares for 5 years (and this is the basic element for aspiring to tax exemption of succession), co-sale rights, qualified majorities (80%) for some statutory amendments, right to appoint three directors (and an auditor) for shareholders with at least 21% of the capital, distribution of at least 50% of Fininvest profits .
The control to Marina and Pier Silvio
All of this will be on the agenda of the upcoming meetings. And once the new rules have been implemented, the pact between the five brothers will be dissolved while the one between Marina and Pier Silvio will remain, which effectively protects the group: together they have 52% of the Fininvest assets estimated at around 4 billion against the 48% of the three brothers (Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi) but have control over 76% of the votes in the assembly. The holding holds significant (Banca Mediolanum) or controlling (MFE-Mediaset, Mondadori) shareholdings in companies listed on the stock exchange and then the Teatro Manzoni in Milan, Monza Calcio and a real estate portfolio among which Villa Gernetto stands out.
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