(ANSA) - Rome, March 2 - A merger between L'Espresso publishing group and FCA's Itedi will create the "leading Italian publishing group and one of the top European groups" with earnings of 750 million euros, the highest profitability in the sector, and no debts, sources said Wednesday.
Carlo De Benedetti's holding company CIR will have more than 40% of l'Espresso after its merger with FCA's Itedi, the company said Wednesday. The two publishing companies together had earnings of 750 million euros in 2015. "The operation would unite the strength of authoritative historical dailies like La Repubblica, La Stampa, Il Secolo XIX and the numerous local papers of the Espresso Group, which in 2015 together reached around 5.8 million readers and over 2.5 million unique daily users on their websites".
The merger "marks a major turning point for the Espresso Group and will ... guarantee a solid future in a difficult market," l'Espresso group President Carlo De Benedetti said. "The mission of this house has always been publishing, at the service of the country's civil growth. With this operation the commitment is confirmed and increased".
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) said Wednesday it is divesting from Rizzoli-Corriere della Sera Media Group (RCS) as part of its merger with Editoriale L'Espresso group, owner of La Repubblica daily. "With this operation the role (we) played... out of a sense of responsibility for more than 40 years - which allowed us to save the publishing group on three different occasions, ensuring the necessary financial resources to guarantee its independence (and) authoritativeness - draws to a close," FCA said.
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