Two almost twin operations have redesigned the publishing landscape of Italy and France in March: countries which, beyond the almost daily quarrels, are increasingly similar. Let's see why. Cheetah (Exor group) and the group MSc they reached an agreement on Wednesday for the transfer of Il Secolo XIX to a company wholly owned by the Group Gianluigi Aponte. The parties, according to a note published yesterday, will now enter into exclusive negotiations to allow "the carrying out of due diligence and, in parallel, they will proceed to the preparation and discussion of the contractual documents that will govern the operation" which, assures the CEO of Gedi ( and Juventus) Maurizio Scanavino, will allow Exor to focus on Republic e The print “with the aim of building, starting from Radio Deejay, a strong, innovative and dynamic digital media company”.
These are certainly not the qualities that represent the moral and political legacy of the two newspapers. But, in the words of Bob Dylan, “the times they are changing”. In Turin and Genoa but also in Marseille, where a new king of information with a fictional history lives: Rodolphe Saadé. Escaped with his family from Beirut in 1981 at the age of eleven and is now leader of the group Cma-Cgm which he governs from the top of the tower built by architect Zaha Hadid.
From Aponte to Saadé
Saadé is the head of the family of the Franco-Lebanese empire whose wealth, although not ostentatious, recalls that of the Count of Monte Cristo. At the end of 2022 no company from beyond the Alps had earned as much as its Cma-Cgm, transport and logistics giant who controls more than 600 container ships operating in ports all over the world, from China to the United States under the orders of Monsieur Rodolphe who, thanks to the enormous guaranteed profits from sea trade in the last two turbulent years (from the Suez crisis to the shallows of Panama to the Hutu rockets) he has dedicated himself to shopping, both strengthening the logistics empire and expanding the activity to space (Eutelsat) and acquiring 9% of Air France . Not to mention insurance and finance, sectors in which proximity to the Middle East has guaranteed good revenues.
Saadé's media empire
But, above all, Saadé has put together a real media empire at the service of business also taking advantage of the weakness of traditional rivals. The first blow was the purchase of The Provencal. The symbolic newspaper of the region after a long antechamber before entering the control room of local power, more exclusive than an English club. From there to Paris it was a short step. Last month it acquired control of, for a round billion BFM, la national radio chain specialized in information and Radiò Montecarlo. The seller was Patrick Drahi, submerged by dreams of grandeur in telecommunications. But Saadé's advance also involved the second economic newspaper, The gallery, entrusted to the care of his wife, Veronique.
Thanks to Bolloré, increasingly concentrated in publishing and dealing on an equal footing with Bernard Arnault.
But let's leave, for now, the Saadé track which in many ways resembles thethe empire of Aponte. Even the group controlled by the former sailor from Campania has been the protagonist of one in recent years impetuous growth culminating in the purchase of Bolloré's African logistics. Like Saadé, Aponte has expanded the field of his activities to the sky – his leap to Italy alongside Lufthansa it's just a matter of months, despite Air France's hostility.
And then? It's easy to think that Aponte, a great friend of Sophia Loren, won't stop. It is reasonable to imagine her interest in the media of Trieste, Livorno and the other ports. For now it's just speculation, we'll see later. Elkann, meanwhile, is preparing to raise cash.
