Finance
Italy's agnelli family sells la stampa daily after 100 years of ownership
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 4, 2026
3 min readLast updated: March 4, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 4, 2026
3 min readLast updated: March 4, 2026
GEDI, controlled by the Agnelli family through Exor, has signed a preliminary agreement to sell La Stampa to regional publisher SAE, ending 100 years of family ownership. The deal includes related assets and is expected to close in the first half of 2026.
MILAN, March 4 (Reuters) - Italian media group GEDI has signed a preliminary deal with regional publisher SAE to sell newspaper La Stampa, the two companies said on Wednesday, putting an end to 100 years of ownership by the Agnelli family.
La Stampa, founded in 1867, is one of Italy's oldest and most prominent national dailies and has belonged to the family since 1926. It is based in the northern city of Turin, like the Fiat auto company which the Agnellis co-founded in 1899.
GEDI, controlled by the family's holding company Exor, said in December it was in talks with Greece's Antenna to sell all of its Italian news operations, which also include newspaper la Repubblica and a portfolio of radio broadcasters.
EXOR is expected to soon finalise the deal with the Greek group, but in the meantime it has found a different buyer for La Stampa, as Antenna, owned by K Group of the Kyriakou family, was not interested in it.
Both la Repubblica and La Stampa are left-leaning and highly critical of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's conservative government.
GEDI's announcement in December prompted concerns over editorial independence and potential job cuts, and was seen as another sign of the gradual disengagement from the Italy of the Agnelli family under the aegis of John Elkann, who is grandson of the late Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli.
GEDI reported sales of 224 million euros ($260.9 million) last year, when it posted a 15 million euros loss. The business is worth 0.3% of EXOR's net asset value, or 118 million euros, according to Italian broker Intermonte.
SAE will complete the acquisition of La Stampa in the first half of 2026 through a vehicle company which is expected to include investors from Italy's north‑western regions, where La Stampa is based, the companies said on Wednesday.
Their statement gave no financial details of the accord.
($1 = 0.8587 euros)
(Reporting by Claudia Cristoferi, editing by Alvise Armellini)
La Stampa was sold by GEDI, owned by the Agnelli family, to regional publisher SAE.
The Agnelli family owned La Stampa for 100 years, since 1926.
The sale ends a century of Agnelli family ownership and is seen as a major change in Italy's media landscape.
SAE will complete the acquisition of La Stampa in the first half of 2026.
GEDI also owns la Repubblica and a portfolio of radio broadcasters.
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