Founders of Il Fatto Quotidiano Reject Takeover Bid from Lmdv Media

The founding shareholders of Società Editoriale Il Fatto (Seif), the publisher of the Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano, announced they will not sell their stakes following a voluntary public tender offer initiated by Lmdv Media. The investment company, led by entrepreneur Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, authorized a due diligence process to acquire the publishing house with the goal of delisting it from the stock exchange.

Lmdv Media's prospective offer valued Seif shares at 0.286 euros each, representing a total equity value of approximately 7.15 million euros. The proposed price included a premium of roughly 30 percent compared to the official stock quotation on October 23 and nearly 17 percent above the six-month average. Furthermore, the firm estimated that Seif might require up to 4 million euros in financial support over the next 24 years to invest in technology, digital platforms, and distribution formats.

However, the transaction was conditioned on Lmdv reaching at least 82.9 percent of the voting capital to bypass statutory limits restricting any single shareholder from holding more than 17 percent. The collective group of founding shareholders—consisting of Antonio Padellaro, Cinzia Monteverdi, Francesco Aliberti, Peter Gomez, Marco Travaglio, Marco Lillo, and Luca d'Aprile—immediately rejected the proposal, stating they have no interest in selling their shares.

The takeover bid followed weeks of public friction and critical reporting between the newspaper and Del Vecchio. Internal newsroom interpretations suggested the acquisition attempt might be connected to recent investigative articles published by Il Fatto Quotidiano regarding the entrepreneur. Conversely, Lmdv Media presented the initiative strictly as a strategic expansion in the media sector aimed at reinforcing the company's financial structure.

In a public statement responding to the refusal, Lmdv Media emphasized its intention to protect the independent journalism of the publication. "The Fatto has written a lot about us, even critically. It is exactly the journalism that we want to protect. We are not asking anyone to change their mind about us. We are only asking to listen to a project that secures the newspaper," the firm stated.

Despite the financial challenges highlighted by Lmdv—including a net loss and negative net worth reported for Seif—the firm stance of the majority shareholders makes reaching the required ownership threshold highly unlikely. Seif's board of directors is scheduled to formally review the communication from Lmdv Media and the response from the founders in the coming days.