Food is always tempting, it must be said, whether it is the amazing creations of mega chefs, or the recipe for apple pie to make at home. And it is precisely on this second typology that it is betting Mondadori which for some time has been collecting the most popular platforms that assist step by step those who want to show off in the kitchen at home. After purchasing Saffron Yellow e ZENZERO, the galaxy group Fininvestthrough the subsidiary Mondadori Media, bought for 6,9 million of euros the 51 % of the share capital of Waimea, the company "owner of all intellectual property rights and economic exploitation of the image" of Benedetta Rossi the content creator, author and TV personality who created the brand "Homemade by Benedetta“. The Mondadori stock is trading today at Business Square 2,57 euros, up 0,59%. In the last month it has gained more than 7%.
In 2023 Benedetta and her husband's company had a turnover of 4,5 million, an ebitda of 2,7 million
Waimea it is 97,9% owned by the same Benedetta Rossi and from husband and chef Marco Gentili (individually and through the company Maui Media) and at 2,10% on an equal basis by Emiliano Messeni and Marco Iacobellis who deal with the technological, communication and advertising part through the Talks concessionaire. THE revenues and Ebitda 2023 of Waimea amount to 4,5 million euros and 2,7 million euros respectively, in terms that reflect an enterprise value (for 100% of the company) on a cash & debt free basis of 13,5 million euros.
The terms of the transaction also provide for a variable component, the so-called earn outs), to be defined on the basis of the results of the two-year period 2023-2024 and the 2026 financial year, says Mondadori, whose valorisation, also by virtue of a contractual "cap" mechanism, is estimated at an overall amount in any case not more than 3,2 million euro.
Possible increase in Mondadori's share to 70%
The strategic partnership also has the aim of evolving the media success already achieved in the food & cooking sector into new neighboring sectors and towards new opportunities, also in terms of diversification of the current business model, continues Mondadori. The signed agreements also provide for put & call options relating to a further 19% share of the share capital of Waimea (exercisable following the approval of the 2028 financial statements) whose exercise terms/strike price are linked to the results (turnover and Ebitda) achieved by Waimea in 2028. The exercise of these options would allow Mondadori Media to increase its own 70% stake in the company, maintaining Benedetta Rossi and Marco Gentili as 30% partners, in line with the long-term strategic partnership nature of the operation.
Mondadori, the second largest operator in the world in food & cooking social media
Mondadori, in announcing the news, underlined that "all of Benedetta Rossi's activities, YellowSaffron and Ginger will make Mondadori Media the most important Italian multimedia player in the food & cooking sector". The beyonds 87 millions of followers at a global level that Benedetta and GialloZafferano will be able to achieve as a whole, will make the two realities, jointly, the second most important operator in the world in social media in the food & cooking sector, says Mondadori according to internal calculations based on market data.
Porro: “Synergies on different levels”
“The entry of Benedetta Rossi and her brand into the perimeter of the Mondadori Group will make it possible to achieve synergies on different levels: audience, content production and, more generally, know-how, also through a series of initiatives that will involve our different business areas” he says Antonio Porro, CEO of the Mondadori Group. “Without a doubt, with this acquisition, we become one of the main multimedia players globally in the food & cooking sector, a territory of national pride".
Benedetta has already published 9 books with over 1,5 million copies sold
Benedetta, who has become famous for her recipes for everyone, has one social fanbase of over 17 million followers and 4 million monthly unique users of its website (Audiweb, May 2024). On TV he has been the protagonist of various programs dedicated to cooking for years and published with the Mondadori group between 2016 and 2023 nine books, which they sold overall over 1,5 million copies.
