De Agostini

As of Monday, 15 July, Frida Sciolla will join Mondadori Group as Communications Manager for the Children’s Business Unit (Mondadori, Rizzoli, Fabbri and Piemme with the Battello a Vapore and Geronimo Stilton brands) and De Agostini Libri (De Agostini, UTET), reporting directly to Lorenzo Garavaldi, General Manager of the Children’s Business Unit and Managing Director of De Agostini Libri.

Frida Sciolla will be responsible for defining the communication guidelines of a strategic and diverse area, focusing her expertise, imagination and experience on the various editorial products.

Born in Savona in 1977, she graduated from the University of Bologna in Communication Sciences and worked on the first year of the Masters in Publishing directed by Umberto Eco. She spent fourteen years at Bompiani publishing house, first as Press Officer, then as Press Office Manager, following releases and supporting leading Italian and international authors. Sciolla then joined HarperCollins Italy, where, starting in 2017, she held the position of Communications and Press Office Manager.

The Mondadori Group announces the signing of an agreement on the acquisition from De Agostini Editore S.p.A. – owner of the entire share capital – of a 50% stake in DeA Planeta Libri S.r.l., to be renamed De Agostini Libri S.r.l., specialized in trade books with focus on the children’s and non-fiction segments.

The corporate governance structure entitles the Mondadori Group to fully consolidate the company.

The scope of the deal includes Libromania S.r.l., wholly-owned by De Agostini Libri and active in the promotion of third-party publishers: the agreements between the parties include put&call options, exercisable in second half 2022, which entitle the Mondadori Group to acquire 100% of Libromania.

In 2021, De Agostini Libri is expected to record consolidated revenue of approximately € 12.6 million, while EBITDA is forecast at break even.

The total maximum value of the transaction, taking account of the 100% valuation of Libromania, has been set at € 4.5 million.

Thanks to the acquisition, the Mondadori Group, – consistent with its strategy of increasing focus on the core business of books – forms a partnership with a publishing house that boasts a rich history and tradition, as well as solid know-how.

While the transaction in itself is irrelevant for the purposes of Antitrust reporting obligations, in accordance with the relevant legislation, it is subject to the Authority’s authorization, given the involvement of the same parties (the Mondadori Group and De Agostini Editore) in the De Agostini Scuola deal.