Czech billionaire Strnad offers €30 billion for EssiLux shareholder Delfin, sources say

By Elisa Anzolin

MILAN, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Czech billionaire Michal Strnad has offered €30 billion to acquire Delfin, the Del Vecchio family's investment firm and the key shareholder in eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica ESLX.PA, two people close to the matter told Reuters.

News of the offer, which was first reported by Italian newspaper Il Domani, comes amid growing tensions within Delfin, whose investment portfolio includes also large holdings in Italy's financial sector.

Il Domani published a copy of a letter dated October 20 from Tilaris, the group that oversees Strnad's business outside the defence sector, outlining the offer.

"I am looking for long-term investment opportunities in companies operating in, or investing in, businesses positioned at the top of their value chain," the letter said, according to the newspaper.

Delfin "perfectly fits my investment approach and strategy," the letter added.

Strnad earlier this year bought a 14% stake in Italian tyre maker Pirelli PIRC.MI from China's Sinochem 600500.SS.

Strnad, 34, heads the family's defence company Czechoslovak Group (CSG) which listed in Amsterdam earlier this year.

Delfin shareholder Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, one of the six children of the late Ray-Ban billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio, confirmed he had been recently informed of an offer for the company received from a foreign investor.

"The work of a lifetime by my father must remain part of Italy's heritage", he said in a statement.

The late Luxottica founder built his business empire from scratch having grown up in a Milan orphanage.

Delfin's ownership is divided equally among Del Vecchio's eight heirs: his six children, his widow Nicoletta Zampillo and her son from a previous marriage.

A sale would require a virtually unanimous decision from the heirs, who have become increasingly at odds with one another.

In addition to its stake in EssilorLuxottica ESLX.PA, Luxembourg-based Delfin holds stakes in Italian insurer Generali GASI.MI and lenders Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) BMPS.MI and UniCredit CRDI.MI, for a combined current market value of €43 billion.

Delfin declined to comment. A representative for Strnad was not immediately available for comment.