By Pietro Lombardi 
 

Exor NV (EXO.MI) has reached an agreement to buy CIR - Compagnie Industriali Riunite SpA's controlling stake in GEDI Gruppo Editoriale SpA (GEDI.MI), the group that publishes Italian dailies La Repubblica and La Stampa.

Exor, the Agnelli family's holding company, will pay 102.5 million euros ($113.2 million) for a 43.78% stake, which represents a price of EUR0.46 per share, the companies said on Monday.

The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the first-quarter next year.

Exor will launch a public tender offer at a price of EUR0.46 a share through a new company, and CIR will reinvest in the new company and get a 5% stake in GEDI, the companies said.

Exor, currently has a 5.99% stake in GEDI according to FactSet. It also has a 43.4% stake in The Economist.

"We now hand over to a shareholder of the highest calibre, that for over two years participated in the life of the Company, that understands very well the challenges of the publishing business, in which it has already invested in recent years," CIR Chairman Rodolfo De Benedetti said.

 

Write to Pietro Lombardi at pietro.lombardi@dowjones.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 03, 2019 01:23 ET (06:23 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.