Repubblica passes to the Greeks. Antenna Group acquires GEDI from Exor: the end of an era in Italian publishing.

It’s done. The Greek group Antenna — owned by the Kyriakou family — has acquired 100% of GEDI Gruppo Editoriale from Exor, the holding company of the Agnelli-Elkann family. Included in the package: la Repubblica, Radio Deejay, Radio Capital, m2o, HuffPost Italia, National Geographic Italia, Limes, and the advertising agency Manzoni. A significant piece of the Italian press changes hands, marking the end of a chapter that lasted over a century.

The price of the deal, according to reports circulating in the weeks leading up to the closing, is said to have settled around 100 million euros, far from the initial requests which were around 300 million. A drop that tells more about the trajectory of traditional publishing in Italy than any press release.

Negotiations with Antenna did not start yesterday: Exor had already confirmed in December 2025 exclusive negotiations with the Greek group, after months of rumors and expressions of interest from other parties. In the meantime, there was also an official offer from Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, amounting to 140 million euros, but Exor had closed the door without hesitation.

The Agnelli family’s farewell to information

The sale of GEDI is not an isolated news item. The transfer of the publishing group takes on particularly emblematic value: publishing represented one of the last visible links between the Agnelli-Elkann galaxy and the Italian public sphere. A link that, between 2022 and 2025, saw Exor generate over 17 billion euros from divestitures, drastically reducing exposure in sectors historically tied to the country.

The story is well-known: in December 2019, Exor acquired 43.78% of GEDI from CIR of Rodolfo De Benedetti for 102.5 million euros, subsequently launching a public offer and taking control of the group. The idea was to build a major Italian information hub. Six years later, the accounts of that investment tell a different story.

Who are the new owners

Antenna Group is not a new name in the international media landscape, although it was until yesterday in Italy. At the center of the operation is Theodore Kyriakou, a Greek media and shipping magnate, son of Minos Kyriakou who founded Antenna in 1989. The group is active in television, digital, radio, streaming, and content production in several European countries, with a presence in the Balkans, the United States, and Australia, for a total estimated audience of hundreds of millions of people. 

The stated ambition is to build a European media hub, leveraging synergies between Greece and Italy as a springboard for further continental expansion. The model, in official statements, sounds familiar: guaranteed editorial independence, investments in digital, podcasts, cinema, streaming. Promises that the newsrooms are waiting to see translated into action.

What happens now

Mirja Cartia d'Asero will take on the role of CEO of the GEDI group, working closely with management to support the development and internationalization path. Mario Orfeo, director of Repubblica since 2024, will continue in his role, while Linus will remain at the helm of radio activities.

Outside the scope of the operation remains La Stampa, whose transfer — along with the printing center, digital, and local advertising sales — occurs through the establishment of a new company controlled by the SAE Group, led by Alberto Leonardis. 

The outgoing president of GEDI, Paolo Ceretti, informed employees that the change of ownership is already effective: "We believe that the transfer of the company to the Antenna Group opens new prospects for GEDI and for those engaged in its various activities," he wrote in the internal note. The tone is that of great institutional occasions: measured, optimistic, devoid of uncertainties. The actual numbers of the promised investments remain to be seen, and, above all, what it will mean for the newsrooms to report under an ownership that until yesterday had never set foot in Italian publishing.