Shareholders of Delfin, the family holding company that controls EssilorLuxottica, voted Monday to approve a roughly €10 billion ($11.8 billion to $12 billion) deal that would allow Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio to buy out two of his siblings and become the company's largest individual shareholder.

Reuters reported that the proposal passed a shareholder threshold at a special meeting on Monday. Bloomberg said most of the eight shareholders approved the plan, while Il Sole 24 Ore, via Reuters, said six out of eight were in favor. It is still unclear if this vote is enough to finalize the deal, since lenders also play a role.

Through an investment vehicle, Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio — who serves as Ray-Ban brand president at EssilorLuxottica and is turning 31 next week — would take on the combined 25% stake belonging to his siblings Luca and Paola. That would bring his total holding in Delfin to 37.5%.

To back the transaction, Bloomberg reported that Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio has been negotiating a financing package with UniCredit, BNP Paribas, and Credit Agricole. One structure under consideration would be a bridge loan, Bloomberg reported, which would allow time to weigh options for Delfin's holdings and governance.

Delfin's 32.4% stake gives it a controlling position in EssilorLuxottica, the Franco-Italian group whose portfolio spans the Ray-Ban, Oakley, and Persol labels, fashion licenses including Prada and Chanel, and retail chains such as Sunglass Hut and LensCrafters. Delfin's other significant investments include sizable positions in Italian financial institutions Assicurazioni Generali and Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena.

The deal could end a governance deadlock that has gripped Delfin since the death of its founder, Leonardo Del Vecchio, in June 2022. When he died, the elder Del Vecchio left Delfin in equal shares to eight people: his six children, his widow Nicoletta Zampillo, and Rocco Basilico, whom Zampillo had from a prior relationship. Governance rules embedded in that arrangement set an extremely high bar for approvals, leaving dividends locked at a tenth of profits and making it impossible to reconstitute the Delfin board. Bloomberg reported that Basilico was expected to oppose the plan, according to La Repubblica.

Shareholders also voted Monday on a second proposal: distributing 80% of Delfin's profits as dividends over the 2025 to 2027 period, with seven of eight heirs in favor, according to Reuters.

Francesco Milleri, a longtime confidant of the late founder, holds dual roles as chairman of Delfin and chief executive of EssilorLuxottica. A Delfin representative declined to comment to Bloomberg on the shareholder vote.