Gedi, agreement with MSC for the sale of Secolo XIX

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After months of rumors, it’s now official. Gianluigi Aponte’s MSC group is one step away from taking over Il Secolo XIX. Through a press release, Gedi (Exor group) announced that it had reached a preliminary agreement with the MSC group for the sale of Il Secolo XIX. In detail, the newspaper should pass to a company entirely controlled by the cruise giant.

The parties, explains the note, will now enter into exclusive negotiations to allow due diligence to be carried out and, in parallel, will proceed with the preparation and discussion of the contractual documents that will govern the operation. The operation also includes digital and advertising activities relating to Secolo XIX, as well as four newspapers connected to it such as The MediTelegraph, L’Avvisatore Marittimo, Il Giornale del Ponente Ligure and Ttm – Tecnologie Trasporti Mare. The agreements relating to the operation, in the event of a successful outcome of the negotiations, will become definitive upon satisfaction of the usual conditions precedent for operations of this nature and of the procedures envisaged by the provisions in force.

MSC is led by Gianluigi Aponte, an entrepreneur who has been operating in the naval, logistics, railway and aviation sectors for years. The entrepreneur recently acquired 50% of Italo trains from the American infrastructure fund Global Infrastructure Partners. It also owns a cargo plane company and has interests in shipping companies such as Moby and Tirrenia.

«The operation announced today – comments CEO Gedi Maurizio Scanavino – aims to ensure a solid future for an important newspaper like Il Secolo XIX. The MSC Group will be able to accompany its evolution in this new phase of its history, giving rise to a collaboration with Gedi that reflects affinities and shared values ​​of two important Italian entrepreneurial families. With this sale, Gedi will essentially complete the process started a few years ago which saw it concentrate on national newspapers. Starting from the leadership it has achieved in various market segments, Gedi will now focus on two priority objectives: grasping all the potential of the ongoing digital transition, in full respect of the identity of its newspapers “la Repubblica” and “La Stampa”, and at the same time develop new initiatives and entertainment projects, which originate from the quality of our three radio stations (Deejay, Capital and m2o), to build a strong, innovative and dynamic digital media company”.

There is certainly a sales path behind Gedi: “Il Tirreno”, “La Nuova Ferrara”, “la Gazzetta di Reggio”, “la Gazzetta di Modena”, “La nuova Sardegna” and, before that, ” the Center of Pescara” and “La Città di Salerno”, to conclude last year with “Il Mattino di Padova”, “La Tribuna di Treviso”, “La Nuova di Venezia e Mestre”, “Il Corriere delle Alpi”, “ Il Messaggero Veneto”, “Il Piccolo” of Trieste and the online newspaper “Nordest Economia”, with the related digital and advertising activities.