Ray-Ban heir buys 2% stake in Italian paper Il Fatto Quotidiano

ROME, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, an heir to the late founder of Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica ESLX.PA, said on Friday he had bought a 2% stake in the company that controls an Italian opposition daily in which he had previously expressed an interest in acquiring.

Del Vecchio said last week that he had dropped a potential bid for Il Fatto Quotidiano owner SEIF SEIFT.MI after the Milan-listed company's main shareholders rejected his request for access to due diligence.

On X, the Italian businessman posted a picture showing him reading the paper, wearing sunglasses, along with the message "I also bought Il Fatto Quotidiano. 2%."

The 31-year-old already has significant media holdings in Italy through his indebted holding company LMDV, namely the QN daily and a 30% stake in the Il Giornale daily, formerly owned by the Berlusconi family.

Before offering to buy Il Fatto Quotidiano, Del Vecchio frequently lashed out at its reporting. In an October 22 post on X, he accused them of running a "smear campaign" against him, and called them "rats of journalism".