Antenna Group’s interest in Italy’s GEDI collides with concerns about a PIF-linked shareholder—and a wider European reckoning over foreign money in the media

A Greek media group is moving to take a foothold in some of Italy’s most storied newsrooms. Antenna Group—chaired by shipowner and media investor Theodore “Theo” Kyriakou—is in talks to buy a stake in GEDI Gruppo Editoriale, the publisher of La Repubblica, La Stampa and other titles. The discussions, first detailed today by Italian daily Domani, come two months after Reuters reported that EXOR, the Agnelli family holding that controls GEDI, had received multiple expressions of interest, including from France’s Vivendi and Greece’s Antenna Group. EXOR has said that over the years it has fielded approaches but that no transaction has materialized.

Domani’s reporting adds a potentially explosive layer: among the investors tied to Antenna, the paper writes, is a company controlled by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth vehicle overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. That linkage—if borne out—would plant Saudi capital within touching distance of one of Italy’s agenda-setting newsrooms, rekindling questions about influence, transparency and the resilience of editorial firewalls when geopolitics and media ownership collide.

The notion of a “Saudi shadow” over Rome’s newsstands is particularly combustible given the global outcry over the 2018 murder of Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi. A declassified U.S. intelligence assessment released in 2021 concluded that the crown prince approved the operation to capture or kill Khashoggi, a finding the Saudi government has rejected. While the Khashoggi case is years old, its echo still shapes perceptions of Saudi investments in media and technology, especially in Europe.

For EXOR, GEDI is a modest asset on a sprawling balance sheet dominated by industrial holdings—from Ferrari to a controlling stake in carmaker Stellantis. In 2024, GEDI generated roughly €224 million in revenue and recorded a €15 million loss; Intermonte estimated the business accounts for just 0.3% of EXOR’s net asset value. Yet GEDI’s cultural weight far exceeds its financial heft. Editorial decisions at La Repubblica and La Stampa still send ripples through Italian politics, finance and culture.

Antenna Group, for its part, has spent the past decade moving beyond Greek broadcasting into a broader web of media, content and investment holdings across Europe and North America. Kyriakou, the son of shipping magnate Minos Kyriakou, chairs the group and the family’s K Group investment vehicle. Antenna’s portfolio and partnerships range from domestic TV to Hollywood-adjacent stakes; it has consistently pitched itself as a long-term operator of media assets rather than a financial flipper.

The precise contours—and the credibility—of an Antenna-led bid for GEDI remain in flux. EXOR’s line, reiterated as recently as July, is that it has merely received approaches. There has been no public confirmation from Antenna and no official disclosure from GEDI of an agreed deal. In parallel, GEDI’s governance has continued to evolve: in April the group named Paolo Ceretti as chairman, part of a wider reshuffle after last year’s changes at the top of La Repubblica.

Still, the prospect of Saudi-linked money near GEDI would likely bring Italy’s investment-screening regime into play. Rome’s so‑called “golden power” rules, expanded since 2020 and now being fine‑tuned, allow the government to impose conditions or even veto transactions in strategic sectors on national‑interest grounds. At the EU level, lawmakers in May backed a major refresh of the bloc’s Foreign Direct Investment Screening Regulation, tightening coordination and pushing member states toward mandatory reviews in sensitive areas—media among them. Even a minority entry into an influential publisher could attract a filing and conditions aimed at safeguarding editorial independence and data security.

The reputational calculus is just as fraught. In recent years the Saudi PIF has become one of the world’s most active state investors, pouring capital into sports, entertainment, technology and infrastructure as part of Riyadh’s Vision 2030 program. European media assets have not been immune to sovereign interest—whether from the Gulf, the U.S. or China—but ownership that traces back to a political leadership accused by Western intelligence of targeting dissidents is destined to ignite scrutiny.

What might Antenna want with GEDI? On paper, a foothold in Italy’s largest quality‑press group offers scale, brand prestige and a bridge into the Italian‑language market for video, audio and live events. Antenna could seek playbooks tried elsewhere: streamlining costs; leaning into subscription bundles that marry text, podcasts and streaming; and sharing production across borders to amortize content spend. For GEDI, a partner with operational media experience—rather than a purely financial investor—could be a catalyst for digital growth if governance protections are robust.

But any upside hinges on answers to two questions. First, how tight are the firewalls? Even absent a controlling stake, shareholder rights—from board seats to vetoes over budgets and editor appointments—can become conduits for pressure. Second, who exactly sits behind the money? If a PIF‑controlled vehicle is indeed in the investor constellation, what undertakings would Rome and Brussels require to ring‑fence editorial decision‑making, protect sources and segregate user data from non‑EU access?

Italian governments of all stripes have defended the principle of a free press while also deploying golden‑power tools to police takeovers they deem sensitive. Regulatory sources say privately that when media is at issue—even without explicit national‑security technology at stake—risk assessments now routinely factor in disinformation campaigns, foreign influence operations and the potential for indirect leverage over political narratives. Any filing involving a PIF‑linked shareholder would be scrutinized through that widened lens.

Then there is market structure. Italy’s broadcast arena is consolidating under MFE‑MediaForEurope after its takeover of Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1, even as domestic publishers face cyclical ad slumps and platform‑driven audience fragmentation. For GEDI, partnering with a regional broadcaster‑operator like Antenna could create scale advantages, but it would also bind a flagship of Italy’s progressive press to a cross‑border media strategy shaped in Athens—and, potentially, influenced by Riyadh’s capital priorities.

None of this will be decided on headlines alone. Any bid would still need to pass due diligence; win over EXOR and minority stakeholders; and clear a multilayered set of regulatory checks. In the meantime, newsroom staff and readers will be looking for one signal above all: credible, enforceable commitments that editorial independence is non‑negotiable, regardless of who sits on the shareholder register.

In many ways, the GEDI story is a microcosm of Europe’s broader dilemma. The continent wants to attract investment to modernize industries, including media, but it also wants to insulate democratic institutions from state‑linked capital with political objectives. Antenna Group’s interest in GEDI—and the questions raised by a PIF‑linked shareholder—forces that tension into the open. The next moves, in boardrooms and in cabinet offices, will tell Europe how much risk it is willing to bear in exchange for new money and new momentum.

Sources (accessed September 10, 2025):

Domani, “Il greco, bin Salman ed Elkann: ombre saudite su Gedi e Repubblica,” Sept. 10, 2025.

Reuters, “Italy’s Agnelli family approached by suitors for La Repubblica’s publisher,” July 4, 2025.

EXOR company page: GEDI Gruppo Editoriale – corporate updates (incl. Apr. 2, 2025 chairman appointment).

Office of the Director of National Intelligence (U.S.), “Assessing the Saudi Government’s Role in the Killing of Jamal Khashoggi,” declassified report, Feb. 26, 2021.

eKathimerini (via Reuters), “Antenna Group expresses interest in buying major Italian dailies,” July 4, 2025.

European Parliament, texts adopted on the reform of the EU FDI Screening Regulation, May 8, 2025.

Norton Rose Fulbright, overview of Italy’s ‘golden power’ foreign investment regime (updated 2024–2025).

Antenna Group company website and biography of Theodore M. Kyriakou (updated 2025).