RCS MediaGroup S.p.A. (formerly Rizzoli Editore and Rizzoli-Corriere della Sera), based in Milan and listed on the Italian Stock Exchange, is an international multimedia publishing group that operates in daily newspapers, magazines and books, radio broadcasting, new media and digital and satellite TV. It is also one of the leading operators in the advertisement sales & distribution markets.
History
Entrepreneur
Angelo Rizzoli founded
A. Rizzoli & C. in 1927. The company initially focused on the press industry, acquiring four national magazines before expanding into publishing. The company underwent multiple restructurings and changes in ownership, notably during the 1980s when two of its executives were implicated in the collapse of
Banco Ambrosiano and the illegal
Masonic Lodge Propaganda Due. Following the 1982 death of
Roberto Calvi, the group applied for bankruptcy protection and greatly downsized.
In 2016, Cairo Communication acquired the controlling stake of RCS MediaGroup. In the same year, Italian Competition Authority approved the sales of RCS Libri ( Rizzoli Libri) from RCS MediaGroup to Arnoldo Mondadori Editore.
Timeline
The timeline of the company:
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1927 – Angelo Rizzoli launches publishing activities at his printing company "A. Rizzoli & C."
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1952 – company was renamed "Rizzoli Editore"
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1974 – company purchased "Editoriale Corriere della Sera S.a.s.", which publishes the daily newspaper Il Corriere della Sera
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1976 – company took over management of La Gazzetta dello Sport
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1984 – Gemina acquired controlling holding of Rizzoli
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1990 – acquisition of holding in Spain company Unidad Editorial S.A., the present day holding of which is 96.1%
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1997 – "Rizzoli-Corriere della Sera" was separated from Gemina’s other industrial activities, which were transferred to the new holding company HdP
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2000 – acquisition of French publishing house Editions Flammarion
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2001 – creation of Fondazione Corriere della Sera
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2002 – acquisition of holding in Dada S.p.A., which at present stands at 46.54%
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2003 – company was renamed "RCS MediaGroup"
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2006 – acquisition of first holding in Digicast, which is now a wholly owned subsidiary
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2007 – acquisition, through Unidad Editorial, of Spanish publishing group Recoletos Grupo de Comunicaciòn
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2007 – acquisition of 34.6% of Finelco Group
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2008 – acquisition, through Unidad Editorial, of 100% of VEO Television (already held at 55,4%)
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2012 – divestiture of Flammarion to Éditions Gallimard
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2013 – In June 2013, the media group accepted an undisclosed offer from PRS S.r.l. to buy 14 magazines, it had put up for sale as part of its restructuring plan.
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2014 – In September 2014, RCS MediaGroup in association with Playtech
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2015 – Sold RCS Libri
Operations
RCS MediaGroup's sectors include
,
and
, radio broadcasting, the
internet, and digital and satellite TV. It also has a division which handles
advertising sales & distribution markets across all media divisions. In Italy, the group manages large daily newspapers such as
Corriere della Sera, publishes popular magazines including
Il Mondo, and a diverse range of school, university, and business publications.
In Spain, through Unedisa, it publishes leading daily newspaper El Mundo.
The financial investment division holds interest in the capital of major Italian companies, including Banca Intesa, the internet company Dada, and Pirelli (which holds a complementary cross-holding).
The company employs 5,558 employees.
Sectors
Quotidiani (Newspapers) Sector
Quotidiani Sector is the publisher of the group's daily newspapers in Italy and in
Spain.
The company holds a leadership position in the national daily press in Italy, where it has a 19%
market share, and in Spain, with an 18% market share.
[ RCS Quotidiani RCSMediaGroup.it]
- Companies
-
RCS Sport, a company that organizes the most important cycling events in Italy, including the Giro d'Italia and some of the most prestigious Classics, such as the Milan–San Remo, the Giro di Lombardia and the Tirreno–Adriatico, together with other events linked to summer and winter sports. RCS Sport organises the Milan Marathon and manages the sponsorship rights for the Italy National Football Team. Since 2008, it has also been a partner of the Italy national rugby league team, and has entered the motorsport industry with the indoor supercross format, Superiders.
[ RCS Sport RCSMediaGroup.it]
-
Unidad Editorial (96.48%, also present in the periodical sector), the leader in the daily press and in the on-line information sector through El Mundo, Expansión and Diario Marca.
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Corriere della Sera
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Corriere dell'Alto Adige (local editions)
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Corriere di Bergamo
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Corriere di Bologna
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Corriere di Brescia
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Corriere Fiorentino
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Corriere Milan
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Corriere Rome
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Corriere del Mezzogiorno
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Corriere del Veneto
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Corriere del Trentino
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Corriere Turin
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City
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La Gazzetta dello Sport
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El Mundo (in Spain through Unidad Editorial)
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Marca (in Spain through Unidad Editorial)
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Expansión (in Spain through Unidad Editorial)
Periodici (Magazines) Sector
Periodici Sector publishes the group's magazines. In Italy the company has a market share of about 18%, with a portfolio of more than 30 publications.
- Companies
Pubblicità (Advertising) Sector
Pubblicità Sector is the agency for the acquisition of
advertising customers for the group's publications. It is the leading company in Italy for the acquisition of advertising for
print media, for which it has a market share of 19%.
[ RCS Pubblicità RCSMediaGroup.it]
- Companies
Other
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m-dis (45%)
-
Agenzia Giornalistica RCS, a news agency, which provides news and editorial content on radio, television and regional Italian web sites.
Former sectors
RCS Libri
RCS Libri runs the group's activities in the
book publishing sector. Its structure comprises four divisions: RCS Libri Italia, RCS Education, RCS Partworks, and Rizzoli USA.
[ RCS Libri RCSMediaGroup.it ] The whole division was sold to Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, with some imprints were sold to other investors.
[ The partworks division was sold in 2011.]
Publishing houses
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(BUR; sold to Mondadori)
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Skira (sold)
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Rizzoli International Publications (sold to Mondadori)
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Rizzoli Bookstore
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Universe
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Rizzoli-Longanesi (50%, in joint venture with Mauri Spagnol Group)
Ownership
On 26 January 2005, the shareholders which control 63.527% of ordinary share capital came to a shareholders' agreement freezing, the participants from selling or trading their holdings. On 14 March 2008, the pact agreed to extend their agreement for another three years until 2011.
In 2016, Urbano Cairo, via Cairo Communication, successfully completed a hostile takeover of RCS MediaGroup. However, Mediobanca, Unipol, Pirelli, Diego Della Valle and a private equity fund International Acquisitions Holding
Earlier that year, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), a company of the 2008 pact, distributed the shares of RCS the company owns (16.7% of the share capital), to the shareholders of FCA,
- Major shareholders of RCS MediaGroup with >2% stake
As of 26 September 2016[CONSOB data accessed on 26 September 2016]
-
consortium of Cairo Communication and U.T. Communications (Urbano Cairo) 59.831%
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Mediobanca 9.930%
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consortium of Diego Della Valle & C. S.r.l. and DI. VI. Finanziaria di Diego Della Valle & C. S.r.l. (Diego Della Valle) 7.325%
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consortium of UnipolSai and Unipol (Finsoe) 4.601%
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Pirelli (State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council of China) 4.443%
External links
