Milan, 7 November 2012 – De Agostini Editore Group announced that it has signed a preliminary agreement for the sale of the entire stake held by De Agostini Libri in Utet S.p.A. – amounting to 99.54% – and, specifically, the General Reference and high-end sector, distributed through the direct sales channel.
80% of the stake will be sold to FMR Art’è, a publishing house formed in Bologna in 1992, active in the production of works of art and high-end publishing and in the promotion of cultural activities, while the remaining 19.54% will be purchased by Marco Castelluzzo, the current CEO of Utet S.p.A.
The Classics and Essays division of Utet’s publishing business will, however, be transferred to De Agostini Libri S.p.A., which will co-ordinate a major re-launch on both the publishing and digital distribution fronts.
The share transfer operation will be finalised in January 2013, following completion by the seller of certain preliminary work to streamline the scope of the sale, which will include spinning off the business division relating to professional publishing, operating under the Utet Scienze Mediche brand.
“The sale of Utet’s General Reference publishing business”, said Paolo Ceretti, CEO of De Agostini Editore, “is part of our previously announced plan to simplify the business portfolio of our publishing Group, aimed at making our business structure more efficient and enabling us to focus more on the international market (Partworks and Direct Marketing) and on the Italian market relating to the Books area”.
For further information:
Elena Dalle Rive
De Agostini S.p.A. Press Office
T + 39 02 62499592 Cell. 335 7835912
e-mail: elena.dallerive@deagostini.it