Aniket Pujari(Bloomberg) — Italy’s foreign minister said the Agnelli family’s Gedi Gruppo Editoriale SpA media company should stay in Italian hands to safeguard press freedom, as sale talks continue with Greece’s Antenna Group.
“If Italian dailies remain in Italian hands that’s better for everyone, for press freedom, for the national interest,” Antonio Tajani, also a deputy premier, told reporters Saturday. “However, unless the law is broken, it’ll be the market which decides.”
Gedi, owned by the Agnellis’ Exor NV investment vehicle, holds both La Repubblica and La Stampa, two of the country’s most influential newspapers. They’re are also seen as some of the most adversarial outlets towards the government of Giorgia Meloni.
The newsrooms of both papers went on strike this week to protest the potential sale, asking for job assurances and criticizing how the exclusive talks had been kept under wraps until Gedi was forced to confirm them last week.
Matteo Salvini, another deputy premier who heads the far-right League, responded to Tajani’s remarks by saying he was focused on protecting jobs but that it was “surreal” that the government should decide who acquired the group, according to reports.
The government could technically apply its so-called golden power to the transaction if it deems the sale to be strategic to the national interest. Though the opposition has called on it to apply the laws, there’s no indication yet that will happen. Rome has come under close scrutiny from the EU for its application of the laws, which it is now re-evaluating.
Italian media have reported that Antenna has signaled an interest in valuing Gedi at about €140 million ($164 million), though the companies haven’t publicly commented on the value of the transaction. Antenna has been eyeing at least three potential targets in Italy amid an expansion push, Bloomberg has reported.
Journalist unions have long decried political interference in the country’s media landscape. Italy ranks 49th out of 180 in the world press freedom index compiled by Reporters without Borders, the lowest ranking in western Europe. That compares to a ranking of 46 in 2024.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
