Publishing, L’Espresso flies on the Stock Exchange after the merger with La Stampa. Down RCS – The Messenger

Session initiation soaring for the group L’Espresso after the agreement to merge with Itedi, the recommended companies of Fiat which controls La Stampa. The title jumped 8.3% to 1.07 euro, followed by the parent company Cir (+ 3.13%). Slides instead RCS (-4.59% to EUR 0.58) after the announcement of exit Fca with the allocation of shares in the group that publishes the Corriere della Sera to their members.

With the merger between group publishing Republic and Itedi, the subsidiary of Fiat with the Press and the nineteenth century, also owned by the Perrone family comes a publishing group with 5.8 million readers, 2.5 million daily unique users on news websites and revenues 750 million.

in the operation Fca released from publishing to focus on self, yielding to its shareholders and the shares in RCS, currently equal to 16.7%, and both those received Espresso thanks to the merger. Cir will drop from 54% in the express now owned 43% of the new group. The shareholder Fca, Exor will in turn 5% of the new group and intends to establish an agreement with the holding company of the De Benedetti family. The reorganization thus also expresses all new alliance among families with publishing in the blood, and now in their second generation. And just this second generation has been directed to the operation, which involved directly John Elkann and Rodolfo De Benedetti, joined by Monica Mondardini.

Instead, as compared to RCS, the holding company of the Agnelli wants to dispose of the share that will receive the distribution to shareholders of the holding in the hands of Fca, is expected to be in the order of 5%, and has already announced plans to divest “in line with market practice.” It means that it will not seek a single shareholder buyer but selling arrangements, yet to be determined but should be such as to disturb the stock performance for volumes and prices.

With respect to the commitment in the group Corriere della Sera Fca has also reported that the operation was accomplished with the role played in RCS ‘sense of responsibility in the course of over four decades, which has saved the publishing group on three different occasions, “ensuring the Rizzoli the financial resources necessary to ensure their independence and preserve its authority.

the Perrone family, that after the union of La Stampa and Il Secolo XIX is 23% of Itedi – Fca has the 77% – will have 5% of the new Espresso with a commitment that, has announced the breadwinner Carlo Perrone, will be “long term”. The entire reorganization will have to be approved by June end with the signing of the definitive agreement, which also will set the exchange, and the merger is however expected in the first quarter of 2017. The company will remain listed on the Italian Stock Exchange and has already been clarified that He wants to keep the “complete independence” of each newspaper involved.

The merger, explained Espresso and Itedi, presents a significant industrial value, aiming to integrate two groups with complementary activities, creating increasing economies of scale. Offering a full range of multimedia content and information services on paper and digital, they explained, will have the capital strength and size to meet the challenges of the sector, by promoting innovative and original projects for a variety of platforms.

it is “looking to the future that today we announce this new publishing group”, a “compelling business project in the media and an act of confidence in the newspapers,” said John Elkann, signaling that will have the mission of ” driving and if possible to anticipate changes that will continue to emerge relentless pace in our industry. “

the operation” demonstrates the commitment of long-term Cir, its management, my family and myself in Espresso Group’s development, “said the president of CIR Rodolfo De Benedetti, also reporting to have” confidence in the Group’s prospects. ” With the Press and the Secolo XIX L’Espresso “will strengthen further, reaffirming its leadership in the Italian daily press,” she reported the director of delwgato Cir Monica Mondardini, anticipating “the necessary process of aggregation of the Italian publishing industry.”

“the mission of this house has always been the publishing industry, in the service of a civil growth of the country. With this commitment is reconfirmed and increased, “said the president of the Espresso Carlo De Benedetti.