2022

Today, the meeting of the Board of Directors of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A., chaired by Marina Berlusconi, reviewed and approved the Half-Year Report at 30 June 2022 presented by CEO Antonio Porro.

“In the first half of the year, our performance was highly positive, and all the business areas contributed to the result, with revenue gaining momentum especially in the second quarter”, emphasized Antonio Porro, Chief Executive Officer of the Mondadori Group. “These results, as well as a continually meticulous management of operations, have allowed us to increase overall profitability and cash generation. Improved operating performance, coupled with the Group’s continued capital strengthening, have laid the groundwork for confirming the 2022 targets and continuing the path of strategic reshaping, despite the uncertain economic and political scenario on a domestic and international level”, concluded Porro.

PERFORMANCE AT 30 JUNE 2022
In first half 2022, consolidated revenue amounted to € 355.1 million, increasing by 10.8% versus € 320.4 million in the prior year; net of the consolidation of D Scuola, Group revenue recorded a like-for-like growth of 5.7%, thanks to the contribution of all business areas, of the Retail and Books areas in particular.

Adjusted EBITDA came to a positive € 27.6 million versus € 21.5 million in first half 2021; excluding the result for the period of D Scuola, adjusted EBITDA came to a positive € 28.4 million as the company, which operates in the school textbooks segment, recorded a loss in the first part of the year due to the seasonal nature of the business; on a like-for-like basis, the Group improved profitability by € 6.9 million versus first half 2021, driven by the positive performance of all business areas, by the Books and Media areas in particular.

Group EBITDA stood at € 26.8 million versus € 19 million in first half 2021; on a like-for-like basis, the figure of € 27.6 million shows a strong improvement, attributable to the abovementioned phenomena, as well as to the positive dynamics of non-ordinary components.

 EBIT came to a positive € 3.2 million (€ 8.5 million on a like-for-like basis). The comparison with 2021 shows:

• an improvement in the overall scope of € 3 million, impacted by the consolidation of D Scuola’s amortization/depreciation and the effects of the Purchase Price Allocation process;
• an improvement on a like-for-like basis of € 3 million.

Financial expense increased by € 1.3 million, due mainly to the recognition in 2021 of a one-off income from the application of IFRS 9 to the terms of the pool loan signed by the Group in May 2021.

Consolidated profit before tax amounted to € 0.5 million; on a like-for-like basis, the figure shows a profit of € 5.8 million, improving by € 10.9 million versus € -5.1 million in first half 2021.
Also contributing to this increase was the improvement of over € 3 million in the results of the investees attributable to the sale on 1 January 2022 of the investment in Monradio (which usually recorded losses), the improved results for the period of Attica, as well as the start of the accounting for the share of profits of A.L.I., of which the Group completed the acquisition of 50%.

Group net profit, after minority interests, amounted to € 2.8 million; on a like-for-like basis, it amounted to € 6.7 million, improving by € 2.3 million versus € 4.4 million in first half 2021, despite the fact that last year had benefited from net non-recurring positive tax components of approximately € 9 million, resulting from the realignment of the tax amounts of trademarks and goodwill to their respective statutory amounts.

The Net Financial Position before IFRS 16 stood at € -205.8 million (€ -285.1 million including IFRS 16). On a like-for-like basis, it stood at € -48.4 million, improving strongly by € 20 million versus the net debt of € 68.3 million recorded at 30 June 2021, despite the cash out from the payment of dividends and the acquisition of A.L.I.

On a like-for-like basis, the LTM cash flow from ordinary operations (after outlays for financial expense and tax) amounted to € 70.6 million, allowing the Group to continue to strengthen its financial structure through the continued and growing ability of the businesses to generate cash.
D Scuola reported a negative cash flow of € 25.2 million in the first half, reflecting the seasonal nature of the school business which, in the first half of the year, records the costs and expenditure for the development and publication of texts marketed in the second half.

LTM Free Cash Flow on a like-for-like basis came to € 41.9 million and includes mainly outlays for restructuring costs of € 10.6 million and approximately € 14 million for acquisitions.

At 30 June 2022, Group employees amounted to 1,917 units, up by 4.8% versus the 1,829 units at 30 June 2021, following the inclusion of the workforce of D Scuola and of De Agostini Libri. Excluding the contribution of companies consolidated from 2022 and the effects of the disposal of titles in the Media area that took place in December 2021, the decline would be approximately 1.7%.

BUSINESS OUTLOOK
In light of the positive operating-financial trend recorded in the first half of the year, and thanks also to the relief received by Electa for its museum activities^[1], the Group believes that it can confirm, for the full year 2022, the previously disclosed estimates at the consolidated level, despite the geopolitical uncertainty and the persisting problems arising from the increase in costs both in the procurement of raw materials, paper in particular, and for energy consumption.

The Group thus expects:

• Earnings: continued resilience of the business model
  – mid-single-digit growth of revenue
  – adjusted EBITDA up by more than 20%
  – double-digit growth of the net result, thanks also to significantly lower restructuring costs and to the improved results of investees versus 2021.

• Cash Flow/Net Financial Position: continued strong cash generation
  – Cash flow from ordinary operations in line with 2021;
  – Free Cash Flow in the region of € 10/15 million (including outlays for the announced acquisitions and before dividend payout);
  – Group net financial debt (IFRS 16) at 1.3x Adjusted EBITDA.

The Mondadori Group continues to prioritize sustainability issues and to pursue its efforts to achieve the ESG goals set.

PERFORMANCE OF BUSINESS AREAS

• BOOKS

Following the remarkable growth seen in 2021, first half 2022 witnessed a consolidation phase of the books market, with a slight drop in terms of value (-1.8%) and volume (-1.4%) versus the same period of 2021^[2].
Excluding from the scope of the books market the comic books segment – still untapped by the Group in the first half of the year and whose growth rate in the period stood at 27.1% – the decline versus first half 2021 is 3.4% (in terms of value).

Against this backdrop, the Mondadori Group’s performance steadily improved, thanks to a publishing plan that concentrated the publication of the most successful titles in the second quarter, and enabled the Group to retain its domestic leadership with a 24.3% market share (26.1% considering the consolidation of Edizioni Star Comics, whose acquisition was completed last 1 July)

Additionally, on 7 July, thanks to Einaudi, the Group won the 76th edition of the Strega Prize with Spatriati by Mario Desiati and placed three other titles from 2nd to 4th place: Quel maledetto Vronskij by Claudio Piersanti for Rizzoli; E poi saremo salvi by Alessandra Carati, a debut fiction writer for Mondadori; Niente di vero by Veronica Raimo for Einaudi.

In first six months 2022, revenue in the Books area stood at € 196 million, up by 16% versus           € 168.9 million in first six months 2021, driven by the positive performance of the trade publishers (+2.2%), which grew by 9% in the second quarter, the sharp increase of Rizzoli International Publications (+10.7%), the upswing in Electa’s activities, as well as the consolidation of D Scuola.
Considering the scope of the Books area on a like-for-like basis alone, excluding the contribution of D Scuola, revenue grew by 6.1%.

Revenue from the school textbooks business amounted to € 49.6 million, up by 38.5% versus € 35.8 million in first half 2021, due to the abovementioned change in the scope following the consolidation of the D Scuola publishing house.
On a like-for-like basis, revenue was down by € 3 million (-8.2%), as a result of the delay in supplies to a number of top accounts, whose recovery is expected in July.

Adjusted EBITDA in the Books area stood at € 23.8 million including the continued negative contribution of € 0.8 million at 30 June of D Scuola, owing to the seasonal nature of the school textbooks business: net of this effect, adjusted EBITDA on a like-for-like basis stood at € 24.7 million, an improvement of € 4.8 million versus € 19.8 million in first half 2021.
The result can be attributable to the abovementioned positive trend of Trade publishers and the performance of Electa, which benefited from the upswing in museum and concession-related activities and higher relief (€ 6.3 million versus approximately € 3 million in first half 2021), which more than offset lower revenue in the Education segment.

• RETAIL

In the first six months, the Retail area posted revenue of € 77.6 million, up by € 7.8 million (+11.2%) versus € 69.8 million in the same period of the prior year.
The ongoing development and renovation of existing stores and the focus on the core business of books have enabled the Mondadori network of bookstores to consolidate its role in the market, as shown by the solid growth in revenue from the Book product (€ +7.7 million), which is higher at the end of the first half even than in the pre-COVID period.

A breakdown of the main channels of Mondadori Retail shows the following:

• directly-managed stores reported a sharp increase in revenue (+45.7% versus the prior year), due to the abovementioned strategy of focusing on the book product and network development activities, and to the restrictions on activities in 1° half 2021 brought by the anti-COVID measures;
• the franchised channel, composed mainly of proximity stores located in small towns, continued its progression, increasing by +3.8% versus the same period of the prior year.

Thanks to the remarkable performance of physical stores, the market share of Mondadori Retail in the Italian books market grew to 11.8%.

In the first half of the year, adjusted EBITDA came to a positive € 1.4 million, up strongly versus approximately € 1 million in first six months 2021, as a result of revenue growth and continued cost containment, renovation and development of the physical network of stores, and despite higher rental and utility costs incurred by directly-managed stores in the six months under review.

• MEDIA

The Media area recorded revenue of € 98.2 million in first six months 2022, increasing by approximately 1% versus € 97.4 million in the same half of the prior year; on a like-for-like basis of portfolio of brands (excluding the effect of the deconsolidation of the titles sold at end 2021), the growth was 10%:

• digital activities, which now account for 22% of the area’s total revenue, rose sharply in the second quarter by 22% (+27.5% on a like-for-like basis of brands). Thanks to this growth, digital revenue as a percentage of total advertising revenue stood at 67% of the total (up from 63% in first half 2021);
• traditional print activities, excluding the titles sold at end 2021, grew by 5%.

The Group’s market share in terms of circulation, as a result of a performance – on a like-for-like basis of portfolio of titles – that outdid the relevant market, stood at 21.3%, up versus 20.5% in May of the prior year.

The Media area’s adjusted EBITDA stood at € 7.8 million, up strongly versus first six months 2021, thanks to the remarkable performance of the print area which, in the second quarter, in addition to benefiting from the continued cost-curbing measures, was able to account for both the margin from the FuoriSalone event (which in 2021 took place in the second half of the year) and for a tax credit recognized on paper consumption that allowed it to offset the increase in the related cost incurred in the period.

With regard to the Warning Notice to listed issuers published by CONSOB on 19 May 2022, concerning the effects on the operating and financial situation resulting from the Russia-Ukraine war, the Mondadori Group clarifies:

• to have no “direct” impacts, as it has no production sites in the affected area, nor does this area represent an outlet market for publishing production or services offered by the Group;
• to have “indirect” impacts, due to the increase in prices of raw materials, energy and transportation.

With regard to such increased costs, the Group has taken measures to alleviate their impact, and has put in place further remedies to achieve efficiencies, such as to achieve in the first half of the year in all business areas growing results versus the relevant forecast figures and to confirm the outlook for the entire year.

The presentation of the results at 30 June 2022, approved today by the Board of Directors is available, on 1Info (www.1info.it), on www.borsaitaliana.it and on www.gruppomondadori.it (Investors section). A Q&A session will be held in conference call mode at 4.30 pm for the financial community, attended by the CEO of the Mondadori Group, Antonio Porro, and the CFO, Alessandro Franzosi. Journalists will be able to follow the meeting in listening mode only, by connecting to the following  phone number +39.02.8020927 or via web at: https://hditalia.choruscall.com/?calltype=2&info=company.

The Financial Reporting Manager – Alessandro Franzosi – hereby declares, pursuant to Article 154 bis, paragraph 2, of the Consolidated Finance Law, that the accounting information contained herein corresponds to the Company’s records, books and accounting entries.

Annexes (in the complete pdf):

1. Consolidated balance sheet;
2. Consolidated income statement;
3. Consolidated income statement – II quarter;
4. Group cash flow;
5. Glossary of terms and alternative performance measures used.

 * The operating and financial figures at 30 June 2022 are also shown on a like-for-like basis excluding D Scuola for greater comparability versus the prior year. Additionally, as already seen for the first quarter, at 30 June 2022, the contribution of D Scuola, fully consolidated as from 16 December 2021, was heavily marked by the seasonal nature of the Education business which, in the first half of the year, records the costs of creating editorial content, as well as the expense from the promotional activities to support the adoption campaign, postponing the recognition of the most significant portion of revenue from the sale of school textbooks to the second half of the year. 

^[1] Emergency Fund for Enterprises and Cultural Institutions for the Relief of Art Exhibition Organizers, decree published on 27 May 2022 granting the subsidies provided by Ministerial Decree 428 no. 227 of June 2021.

^[2] GFK, June 2022

For the summer holiday season, Mondadori Store, Italy’s largest bookstore network, is launching the new edition of “Libri da indossare”, the special initiative dedicated to the pleasure of reading and people who want to lose themselves in the emotions of the books they love.

For people for whom reading is a passion, Mondadori Store has produced a new collection of cotton Tote Bags in a limited edition inspired by Richard Bach’s best-seller “Jonathan Livingston Seagull”, to offer a pleasurable opportunity for relaxation immersed in the pages of a good book, with an authentic and distinctive style.

The Mondadori Store exclusive Tote Bag is enhanced with an elegant illustration by Francesca Gastone, making it an indispensable accessory for people who love the story and characters in one of the great literary classics.

The bag will be a gift for everyone who buys at least 2 books from the rich catalogue published by the Mondadori Group publishing houses Einaudi, Fabbri Editori, Frassinelli, Mondadori, Mondadori Electa, Piemme, Rizzoli, Sperling & Kupfer at Mondadori Store bookstores taking part in the initiative or on mondadoristore.it, from 29 July to 17 August.

 For the new edition of the initiative, Mondadori Store has renewed its collaboration with the Italian training school MiMaster, the leading player in the illustration and publishing sector, entrusting personalisation of the bags to its students.

The regulation and information on how to obtain a Tote Bag are available on www.mondadoristore.it

Mondadori Store is the largest network of bookstores in Italy: a cultural organisation active across the country through more than 500 stores in large cities and small towns alike, and online through the e-commerce website Mondadoristore.it and the bookclub formula. In addition to books, its core offer, it organises entertainment experiences, events and multi-channel services, reaching more than 20 million customers every year.

Mondadori Retail, the company that runs the largest network of bookstores in Italy, continues to develop with an expansion plan for the opening of new Mondadori Stores, an enhanced offer and an increasingly distinctive positioning embracing physical stores, e-commerce and social media.

“The ongoing work to renew and enhance the network and to focus on the book core business has enabled our network to consolidate its leadership still further,” said Mondadori Retail CEO Carmine Perna. “We are moving ahead with the opening of 13 new stores planned by the end of 2022, for an overall total of 25 openings during the whole year. Our bookstores are designed to inspire future readers and as meeting places where local communities can make new discoveries: so we are paying ever greater attention to the new generations, with dedicated formats in the stores and on the social channels, and the organisation of initiatives involving the local area,” Perna added.

FORTHCOMING OPENINGS

On the bookstore front, three new Mondadori Bookstores under direct management will be opened in the second half of the year, in the regions of Lazio, Lombardy and Umbria. They follow the two openings in Genoa and Montenero di Bisaccia (Campobasso) in April and May.

The expansion of the franchising network is also moving ahead, with 10 new bookstores due to open by the end of the year in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Sicily and Marche, after the start-up of 10 affiliated outlets in the first half of 2022. A nationwide presence across Italy, from North to South, with medium-size locations where books are the real protagonists.

The Mondadori Store development plan is also supported by the continuous renewal of directly managed stores: by the end of September, the Mondadori Bookstore in Padua will open in its new location in Piazza Garibaldi, and in Vimercate the outlet in the Torri Bianche shopping mall will undergo a restyling; during the winter, the new Mondadori flagship will open in Milan, on the corner between Piazza Duomo and Via Mazzini.

THE NEW FORMATS

The Mondadori bookstore offer for children and adolescents is enhanced with the new “We are junior” section, an area designed to welcome even the smallest children, with books and educational games to stimulate the imagination for the 0-13 age group. With its yellow and green colour scheme and origami decorations inspired by nature and the world of animals, which have great appeal for children, the section has an immediately recognisable visual identity.

The process of continuous innovation has also led to the development of the “Just Comics” format, for manga, graphic novels, superheroes and the great Italian authors. Planned as a comic store in the bookstore, “Just Comics is a flexible space that adapts easily to the specific dimensions of the individual outlet. The project began in Milan with an entire floor in the Rizzoli bookstore in the Vittorio Emanuele Gallery and the Mondadori Megastore in Piazza Duomo, and has since been extended to all the bookstores under direct management and to a growing number of stores managed on a franchising basis, establishing itself in just under a year as a point of reference for lovers of the genre.

EVENTS

The events calendar has been enhanced with meetings with writers and figures from the world of entertainment and initiatives with schools and libraries. Bookstores play a vital role in promoting reading, thanks in part to the passion of local booksellers, who are able to build productive ties of cooperation with local institutions. Events include the literary festivals “Ad alta voce” in Mestre, “Come un libro all’aperto” in Fano, “Velletri Libris” in Velletri. For information about all the events: https://eventi.mondadoristore.it/it/news/2022/07/19/estate-in-festival-tutti-gli-eventi-letterari-delle-nostre-librerie/115/

DEBUT ON TIKTOK

From the physical to the digital, relations with readers are also consolidated on social media, with initiatives and content to support purchasing on all channels: from today Mondadori Store will also be on TikTok , as well as Instagram and Facebook, to talk about books, local events and meetings.

A journey to explore the Mondadori bookstores in Italy, through the testimonials of people with close connections to bookstores: from booksellers, who organise content on the TikTok profiles of local Mondadori bookstores, attracting numerous followers, to booktokers, young men and women who love reading and have built up huge followings. A communication format that valorises books and bookstores, making them a point of reference for people who want to follow the latest literary trends on social media.

Mondadori Store, Italy’s largest bookstore network, is taking its cultural and entertainment offer to the Latinafiori shopping mall with a new Mondadori Bookstore which will be officially opened on Friday 22 July.

Occupying a surface area of over 260 square metres, the store will be a new point of reference for book-lovers, with more than 12,000 volumes on the shelves including fiction, non-fiction, and the great classics: a selection organised by the Mondadori Store team of booksellers, who will welcome customers in the shopping mall seven days a week with advice and recommendations.

The new Mondadori Bookstore also houses a large comics section, the “Just Comics” department, with  manga, superheroes and graphic novels.

Younger readers are catered for too: in the “We are Junior” area designed for children and adolescents, visitors will find a wide range of educational games and illustrated books to stimulate the imagination of the smallest children. The store also offers the latest music entries and a quality range of stationery, gift boxes and gift cards.

All Mondadori Bookstore customers will be able to use the store’s digital services including Pick Up Point, where books purchased from the Mondadoristore.it catalogue, which contains more than 1 million titles, can be picked up free of charge; Prenota e ritira, where items can be booked online then purchased in the store; and Invia a casa, for home delivery of articles ordered in the bookstore.

The new opening continues the development plan of the Mondadori Store bookstore network, the largest in Italy with more than 500 stores located in cities and smaller centres. A cultural network active throughout the country, online with the Mondadoristore.it e-commerce site and the bookclub formula, which in addition to books – the core of the offer – provides entertainment, events and multichannel services, to reach more than 20 million customers every year.

MONDADORI BOOKSTORE

Latinafiori shopping mall, V.le Pier Luigi Nervi, 04100 Latina LT

Opening times: Mon-Sat 09-20; Sun 10-20

E-mail: libreria.latinafiori@mondadori.it  – Tel 0773.1727301

Facebook I Instagram

https://www.mondadoristore.it/negozi

Giallozafferano, Italy’s leading food media brand, is building up a strong international profile. Little more than a year after its launch abroad, it has been winning record numbers, with 25 million followers for its English-language versions, and growing its international social profiles to more than 1.2 million new fans a month.

These results, added to the 20 million people who follow the Italian version, have made Giallozafferano the world’s fourth most popular cooking brand on social media.

This outstanding success is driven by competitive positioning and continuous expansion, leading Giallozafferano to reach a total fanbase of 45 million people and become a go-to brand for a global public of food-lovers keen to learn about and try Italian dishes and ingredients.

A key factor in the Mondadori Group brand’s extraordinary international results are its TikTok accounts: @giallozafferano_en and, above all, @gzfoodqood, a profile with more than 17 million followers, which has established itself as the world’s third most followed cookery account on TikTok.

Significant success has also been achieved by the @GialloZafferanoLovesItaly Facebook profile, which has more than 4.4 million fans, and on YouTube, where the English version has beaten the 1 million subscribers threshold, winning the “Golden Creator Award”.

These impressive results are joined by yet another record: more than 2 billion video views in the last 90 days on the international Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok channels.

A winning offer that combines exclusive content and original-language versions to engage an ever wider public and become a cookery benchmark, even for the younger generations. Giallozafferano‘s recipes and suggestions involve some of the top talents in the food creator team, which increasingly has become the heart of the brand’s success formula. They include Daniele Rossi with his gourmet cuisine, the little Cooker Girl from the region of Piedmont and Italo-American Nonna Pia.

Extraordinary numbers, which the Giallozafferano international channels have achieved with an offer that has also been successfully developed on the English-language website Giallozafferano.com. The most viewed content includes some of the most famous Italian recipes in the world, from tiramisù to carbonara and amatriciana.

The Mondadori Group announces the completion today of the disposal to Artoni Group S.p.A. and SRH S.r.l. – two of the leading local distributors of daily newspapers and magazines – of 51% of the share capital of Press-di Distribuzione Stampa e Multimedia S.r.l.; the company is wholly owned by Mondadori Media S.p.A. and is active in the national distribution of newspapers and magazines for the Mondadori Group and for over 90 third-party publishers.

The transaction will not envisage changes in the contractual terms and conditions already applied to distribution activities, and is intended to increase efficiency and achieve synergies through a vertical integration process in the sector by involving specialized players; additionally, Righel Anglois will continue to hold his position as CEO.
The transaction continues the path of shortening the distribution chain to protect, digitize and strengthen the “last mile”, with an increasing support to newsstands, which are the most tangible and important interface with readers for publishers of newspapers and magazines.

The disposal of 51% of Press-di, which contributed approximately € 29 million to the Mondadori Group’s consolidated revenue in 2021, envisages a consideration of € 1.5 million; the transaction will produce no material operating, financial or business effects and will have no impact on the Group’s guidance for 2022 as disclosed to the market.

Pride Month has been yet another opportunity for The Wom, Mondadori Media’s new 100% inclusive digital media brand, to confirm its positioning as a point of reference for young millennials and generation Z, who regard uniqueness and freedom of expression as strengths and values that enrich them and others, over and beyond labels.

For more than 1 month The Wom provided its entire community with a rich editorial program of stories and analyses on all 5 of its social channels and on the web: a special marathon with more than 120 content items, which reached over 10 million people (source: Google analytics e social insight, June 2022).

Many video accounts and insights have been shared, enhanced by continuous storytelling on social media and the web that raised awareness about current key issues, thanks in part to contributions from 20 video creators and authors from the LGBTQIA+ universe: they included Sara Fregosi, who told The Wom community about her difficult coming out with her mother, and Samuele Bartoletti, a victim of teenage bullying, who sent a message of freedom and pride in telling his story. The editorial program also included curiosities and analyses shedding light on some of the most keenly debated questions, in part through the Vocal Carousels, a collection of original audio clips in which The Wom asked members of its community about their experiences of Pride.

For each item, The Wom chose the most suitable format and channel: from short reels on TikTok, with stories from the creators and information content, to the Carousels and vertical reels on Instagram devoted to make-up, style pride and fluid fashion; from the web capsule, with a daily agenda on the issues of the LGBTQIA+ community, to  live coverage with IG Stories from Milano Pride, where a video maker and editor interviewed participants to convey the experience in real time on social media. The new special edition format will be used to examine many other issues and events over the rest of the year.

For Pride Month, the brand also launched The Wom Pride, a new rainbow visual, which accompanied the brand storytelling, with The Wom Pride logo appearing on all social channels, the pride rainbow bar on all content, a fixed navigation link on the website, and a fixed space dedicated to the web capsule on the website homepage.

The project confirms The Wom’s mission to promote a culture that affirms free expression of personality: addressing a community of people who care about the values of gender equality, self-acceptance and sustainability, with the typically inclusive content and language of generation Z and the millennials, The Wom is the first Italian media brand to form a Gender & Inclusion Committee.

The Wom audience continues to expand, with 10 million unique users (source: Comscore March 2022), a 4 million fanbase and 35 million video views (source: Shareablee e social insight, May 2022).

The Mondadori Group announces the completion today, through its subsidiary Mondadori Libri S.p.A., of the acquisition of 51% of Edizioni Star Comics S.r.l., Italy’s leading comic books publisher.
The transaction, which takes place in execution of the agreement signed and disclosed to the market last 6 June, will be effective as of 1 July, the date from which Mondadori will also fully consolidate the company.

As a result of the acquisition – consistent with the strategy of increasing focus on the core business of books – the Mondadori Group gains a leadership position in the domestic comic books segment, with an approximately 30% market share (GfK, in terms of value, June 2022).
Under the agreement, Simone Bovini and Claudia Bovini retain their management positions in Edizioni Star Comics, continuing to serve as Managing Directors.

The price for the acquisition of 51% of the share capital of Edizioni Star Comics – paid fully in cash today – is € 14.28 million, defined on the basis of an Enterprise Value (for 100% of the company) of € 28 million and an estimated net financial position at closing of zero.
The price will be adjusted based on the final net financial position at 30 June 2022.

The transaction, including the impact of the put&call options giving the Mondadori Group the right to increase its stake up to 100% in Edizioni Star Comics, changes the Group’s guidance for 2022 as follows:

• free cash flow is expected to be € 10-15 million versus the previous estimate of € 40-45 million;
• the Adjusted NFP/EBITDA ratio (IFRS16) stands at a level below 1.3x versus the previous forecast (below 1.1x).

The partnership between McDonald’s and Giallozafferano, Italy’s most popular food media brand, goes into its fourth year after burger sales topping 21 million: the original McChicken recipe is joined by Il Gustoso and L’Affumicato, two new Chicken Creations for exciting new taste experiences.

Available in all 640 McDonald’s restaurants in Italy until 30 August, the Chicken Creations are made with special top-quality ingredients sourced from our local supply chain, as well as 100% Italian chicken breast supplied by Amadori and bread produced in Italy by Bimbo. The flavourful Il Gustoso dresses the chicken with Italian red cabbage, Pecorino Romano DOP cheese & pepper sauce and Italian bacon; meanwhile L’Affumicato comes with smoked scamorza cheese made from Italian milk and grilled pepper sauce and will be available in a bun or as a McWrap.

The new recipes reaffirm and strengthen McDonald’s relations with and commitment to the Italian agri-food chain, from which every year it purchases more than 100,000 tonnes of raw materials worth almost 240 million euro. For the 2022 Chicken Creations alone, the company will use around 6 tonnes of Pecorino Romano DOP cheese, 630 tonnes of chicken, 74 tonnes of smoked scamorza and 61 tonnes of red cabbage.

The Chicken Creations were developed jointly by chefs from McDonald’s and the Giallozafferano brand, once again the prestigious partner on the initiative thanks to the strength of its community and ability to involve some of the most popular food creators on an innovative project that is spreading from social media to McDonald’s restaurants across Italy.

“We are excited to renew our collaboration with Giallozafferano, which this year once again has produced original new recipes to satisfy Italians’ love of tasty original food. We are very proud of this project because it reiterates the quality and flavours of our country’s ingredients,” said McDonald’s Italia CEO Dario Baroni. “Chicken is increasingly popular among our consumers, who recognise the quality and origin of the ingredients they find in our restaurants: this, in addition to the tasty recipes, is the reason for the success of a project where we tell everyone about the unique quality of ingredients Made in Italy.”

“Innovation, constant attention to the passions of our community and use of fine Italian ingredients: these are the values underpinning our four-year relationship with McDonald’s, a partner of excellence,” observed Mondadori Media General Manager Andrea Santagata. “We are delighted to continue a collaboration that combines one of McDonald’s most popular burgers with our brand’s creativity and experience. The project is even more innovative this year thanks to the involvement of our creators on the social channels, especially TikTok, where Giallozafferano can try out styles that appeal to young users, and so become a reference in the kitchen for them too,” added Santagata.

The protagonists of the project, starting with the campaign teasers, are the two brands’ web communities, who were invited to guess the ingredients and the names of the burgers.

The Foodqood creators, Daniele Rossi, Fernanda Nicotra, Chef Nerone and Rafael Nistor, each with their own style and communication approach, will deliver a series of exclusive social media content, replicating in their videos the recipes of the iconic McChicken and the new Chicken Creations — presented today during a special event hosted by Willwoosh, youtuber Guglielmo Scilla.

The Chicken Creations campaign and visibility plan were developed together with Brand On Solutions, the Mediamond project area, coordinated by OMD, and will be rolled out on all Giallozafferano digital channels, from the website, all social profiles – Facebook, Instagram, TikTok e YouTube – and the app, with McDonald’s drive-to-store and drive-to-app push notification.

Great success for INTERNI Design Re-Generation at the 2022 FuoriSalone. From 6 to 13 June, the event created and coordinated by the Mondadori Group magazine edited by Gilda Bojardi attracted a total of approximately 300,000 visitors in the three institutional locations: Milan “Università degli Studi”, the Brera Botanical Garden and the Audi House of Progress, for the first time at Palazzo Medelan in Piazza Cordusio.

“This year once again, Milan succeeded in involving an international public in a spectacular across-the-board happening people are determined not to miss,” said INTERNI editor Gilda Bojardi. “Revealing its most secret places and buildings, it turned into a city-wide museum featuring projects and design initiatives whose cultural and experimental dynamism pushed the boundaries of the trade show.”

This edition of the exhibition looked at the regeneration of thought and design, with experimental installations on such important questions as: the new sustainability aesthetic, nature in the city, artificial intelligence for innovative design and a new future through greater design awareness.

With the contribution of the 3 co-producers (Audi, Eni-Plenitude and Whirpool) and in collaboration with companies and institutions, INTERNI called over 50 great Italian and international -designers and architects. Over 40 installations, micro-architectures and macroobjects have been created for the exhibition, all site-specific which – together with conferences, talks and live performances – have created a variegated mosaic of styles and visions, but also moments of confrontation, attracting thousands of people. Visitors included large numbers of Italian and international journalists, who provided excellent coverage for INTERNI Design Re-Generation in the daily papers, on radio and TV, in the trade press and in popular magazines, and ensured a continuous presence for the exhibition on the main social channels and the web.

The INTERNI exhibition confirms its place as the iconic  event of the FuoriSalone, created as an initiative of the magazine’s editor, Gilda Bojardi. The foundation of its success is the outstanding design and cultural content of the installations, the internationally famous brands involved, flanked by smaller operations who also offered exhibits of great interest.

The exceptional response from both the public and the media reflects the absolute leadership of INTERNI in the professional living segment and in design system communication.

Thanks go to the co-producers Audi, Eni-Plenitude with CRA Carlo Ratti Associati and Italo Rota, Whirlpool with AMDL CIRCLE and Michele de Lucchi, and all the companies, designers and architects who took part: Citco with Ron Arad and Associates, AlphaTauri with Hannes Boeker and Daniel Kainz, Roca with Cobalto Studio, Rubner Haus with Giacomo Garziano- GG-loop, Mathera by Saib with Diego Grandi, Tecno with Zaha Hadid Architects, Deutsche Telekom Design & Customer Experience in collaboration with Layer, Sanlorenzo with Piero Lissoni, Focchi Group, Mitsubishi Electric with Progetto CMR, De Castelli with Antonio Marras, Guglielmi Rubinetterie with Elena Salmistraro, Portobello, Casone Group, Mapei, Pietra Serena Group with Isay Weinfeld, Amazon with Lissoni Associati, Beton Eisack with Jacopo Foggini, Nardi with Raffaello Galiotto, AHEC with Benedetta Tagliabue – EMBT and Fundació Enric Miralles, iGuzzini illuminazione with Scandurra, ApexBrasil with the curator Bruno Simões, Fujifilm Italia with FTA | Filippo Taidelli Architetto, Porro with Andrea Branzi, K3 with K3 Creative Team, Ledvance with Eurostands together with CastagnaRavelli, Hitachi Cooling & Heating with LuccheseDesign, C&C Milano with Nicolò Castellini Baldissera, Mirage with Andrea Boschetti – Metrogramma, G.T.Design with Deanna Comellini, Accademia IUAD with the Three-Year Course in Interior Design and Architecture, Lladró with Lladró creative team, Cerasarda with ovre.design, LibriBianchi of Lorenzo and Simona Perrone, the Italian Embassy in Madrid with Gianluca Pugliese-Lowpoly Design Studio, Milano Makers with Franco Raggi, Maria Christina Hamel and Cesare Castelli, Michieli Floricoltura with Roberta Studio and Paolo Michieli, Ever in Art with Marco Nereo Rotelli, Higold Group with Pininfarina Architecture, Missoni with Alberto Caliri, Forbo Flooring Systems with Mac Stopa and Massive Design, FIND – Design Fair Asia, and Giulio Cappellini for the design of the Cappellini@IBM Studios Milano Exhibition.