Voices from France (and not only) tell of a return of flame by Vivendi for Gedi. Elkann thinks

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Will La Repubblica and La Stampa speak French? Put like this, it's a story that will give the government hives. From bad to worse, after the tensions with John Elkann (the Stellantis factories and the ongoing fight with director Maurizio Molinari were involved), are the historic adversaries of the Italian right arriving? It's true that this time Emmanuel Macron is not involved, but on the contrary his sworn enemy, none other than Vincent Bolloré, owner of Vivendi who had spent and spent first for Éric Zemmour and then for Marine Le Pen. But if both Giorgia Meloni and Matteo Salvini can be happy, the same cannot be said of Forza Italia: we must not forget that Bolloré is the one who stabbed his friend Silvio Berlusconi in the back, as they say at Fininvest. Before deploying the troops, however, let's see what it's all about. In reality, it has been talked about since last year and even Il Foglio had written about it. John Elkann, after having sold, page after page, most of the newspapers of the Gedi Group purchased five years ago by the De Benedetti family's Cir, wants to exit completely , but exit with style and with that international allure to which he is particularly attached.

Various proposals emerged, some true, some artificial, and real appetites surfaced (among others, there was talk of Angelucci, now the reference publisher of the right-wing government). The hypothesis of a group led by a manager who knows about publishing like Carlo Calabi, former CEO of Rizzoli-Corriere della Sera and Il Sole 24 Ore, had gained substance and credibility. Lettera43, published by Paolo Madron, was also part of it. There was also talk of Luigi Bisignani, who however denied it. As financial support, Risanamento (nomen omen), a Milanese real estate company chaired and managed by Calabi, its share package is 48.8 percent owned by Intesa Sanpaolo and 22.2 percent by Unicredit. In particular, it owns two large post-industrial areas on the outskirts and in the hinterland of Milan: the former Montecity in Rogoredo, renamed Santa Giulia, and the former Falck area in Sesto San Giovanni, the largest abandoned area in Italy. The urban planning projects, the first signed by Norman Foster and the second initially by Renzo Piano, who then left, have made little progress. Rumours and counter-rumours, push and pull, they had continued throughout 2024. However, in the first months of this year the European window opened, with the hookup of Vivendi (even if never officially confirmed) . One of the main obstacles concerned the Tim-Mediaset mess from which Bolloré and sons wanted to get out after losing over 4 and a half billion euros. Now the share of the telephone company has passed almost entirely to Poste Italiane while next year the legal dispute with Mediaset should also be closed.

So, the Gedi operation can get going again . According to some sources contacted by Il Foglio, it has actually resumed, even if confidentiality is a must; others maintain that we are still in the surplace phase, also because what is at stake are not only the money but also the moods of the protagonists, not only Elkann, but Yannick Bolloré, heir together with his brother Cyrille and architect of the Italian retreat. Vivendi would not enter with a share large enough to become the shareholder de référence, but would offer the international connection that the Agnelli heir is looking for . Jaki, as he was once called (today those who are not family refer to him as engineer), had thought of creating an international publishing group (he owns 43.4 percent of The Economist as a personal investment, outside of Exor), but the crisis in the sector has been stronger than desired.

The farewell to RCS was not compensated by Gedi which continued to lose, despite a drastic slimming down: gone are the local newspapers, l'Espresso, il Secolo XIX, remaining are la Repubblica, la Stampa, the radios (Deejay and Capital), HuffPost and Manzoni, the oldest advertising agency (il Foglio is also its client) which is of particular interest to Vivendi. The French group owns Havas, a multinational advertising and public relations company, Hachette (Paris Match, Elle) and what remains of the Lagardere media group, plus television with Canal+, but above all music with the American Universal. We are at a turnover of ten billion euros. Gedi closed 2024 with 224 million in revenue and 15 million in losses. In short, a way out is urgently needed. Stay tuned .

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