Wedding in publishing. The Turin group of La Stampa, controlled by Fiat, and the Genoese group of the Perrones which edit Secolo XIX merge to give life to Italiana Editrice SpA, of which John Elkann will be president. However, the two newspapers will continue to appear separately.
In the new company, Fiat will have 77% and the Genoese family 23%. The merger arises from the need to react to the publishing crisis which saw the collapse of circulation and advertising and the growth of losses. And it also stems from the desire to ride the digital revolution.
It will be interesting to understand what the effects will be on Corriere della Sera, where Fiat is the first shareholder, from the birth of the new publishing center in the North-West. At least two can be seen. First of all, the editorial marriage between Turin and Genoa seems to distance the merger projects between La Stampa and Corriere della Sera, which would violate the antitrust rules, giving rise to too strong a concentration.
Secondly, the new wedding could influence the choice of Ferruccio de Bortoli's successor at the editorship of Corriere. One of the eligible candidates is the director of La Stampa, Mario Calabresi, to whom Elkann could ask to remain at the helm of the Turin newspaper in view of the new course. However, the reverse effect could also arise: reassured by the impracticability of merger projects between La Stampa and Corriere, the other RCS shareholders (primarily Bazoli and Della Valle) could be convinced that there will be no Turin hegemony over via Solferino and thus giving the green light to the Calabresi direction for the after de Bortoli.
