ROMA (ITALPRESS) – Group SAE – an emerging player in Italian publishing that controls newspapers Il Tirreno, La Nuova Sardegna, Gazzetta di Reggio, Gazzetta di Modena, La Nuova Ferrara, La Provincia Pavese in addition to the online publications Sera (recently acquired), Abruzzo Daily, Mamme Magazine and ErasMAG – announces that its subsidiary in the media area and communication Next Different has reached a binding agreement for the current companies.
Uniting Group, which operates on the market through vertical companies All (live experience), Kiwi (new media communication) and Flu (influencer marketing) closed on 2024 with a consolidated turnover of approximately 47 million and an EBITDA of approximately 5 million.
The integration between Next Different and Uniting will give rise to a group that in 2024 has expressed at a consolidated level over €120 million turnover and about 12.5 million EBITDA, with a significant generation of cash. At the end of the operation, whose closing is scheduled by the end of the month of November, the members of Uniting Alessandro Talenti, Luca Colombi, Giancarlo Sampietro, Alessandro Martinelli and Dario De Lisi will be engaged in the combined entity, with a participation of approximately 15%, the historical members of the SAE Group, Next 24 (Marco Ferrari and members), Davide Arduini, Andrea Cimenti and the QuattroR Fund, which in last July had committed itself to an increase of the €20 million Started in 2024 under the aegis of the controlling SAE Group, the operation of national consolidation in the field of communication follows a diversification strategy by the publishing group aimed at supporting publishing development investments with an initiative in an area with high growth potential.
‘We live in a time accelerated by the changes brought by innovation and technology – added Donato Iacovone, for over 10 years driving EY South Europe President of Next Different – so the execution of the projects requires a new speed. That speed that has brought us from scratch to the development of the independent player of reference in Italian communication, through the union of some of the most brilliant entrepreneurial talents of the sector and with the fundamental support of an institutional investor like QuattroR.
“We all live the operation with Uniting as a new foundation – comments Marco Ferrari who will be the Group CEO of the new reality – in which highly successful business stories converge and join, with the common goal of raising the asticella of ambition and trying to build an Italian group of relevant dimensions and organization, which is not afraid to invest, confront the multinationals of the sector and which can ambition to look beyond the national borders.
‘ The decision to take this step in the best historical moment for our company – says Alessandro Talenti, who will be AD in the combined entity together with Davide Arduini – is the result of a long and in-depth reflection. We believe that the best response to the speed of change and to the technological innovations in place, is to have the courage to go beyond its comfort zone and unite forces, skills and talents to create something really relevant, for our people and for our customers. With Next Different we found the perfect match for the realization of our dream’.
‘ Our world evolves rapidly and is no longer time to crumble in niches – concludes Davide Arduini, President of UNA and AD together with Alessandro Talenti in the combined entity – if we want to continue to be relevant to our customers and our people, we must have courage and build system operations like this, which allow us to create scale and free investments in technology and talents, to continue to do the most beautiful job of the world in a contemporary way.
Stefano Cassina, Senior Partner of QuattroR SGR in this regard states that ‘The investment in Uniting Group is a perfect complement to Next Different and is the first building block from which to start to continue the ambitious acceleration of the Group’s national and international development, which we will continue to support with conviction, in line with our goal of supporting the growth of Italian companies of excellence’.
The members of Uniting Talenti, CEO Uniting and AD in the combined entity, Colombi, Chief Client Officer Uniting, Sampietro, chief innovation officer Uniting, Martinelli, chief people officer Uniting, De Lisi, creative business partner Uniting will also entrust Marco Ferrari, Group CEO Next Different, Davide Arduini, AD Next Different, Andrea Cimenti, AD Next Different Unit Agency and Roberto Calzolari, AD Next Different Media in the key roles of the company and the company.
To complete the CDA of the combined entity Pasquale Marchese, advisor with delegation to efficientamento and development of Gruppo Sae, Massimo Briolini, head of financial area of Gruppo Sae, Marco Racano, head of legal area of Gruppo Sae. Stefano Cassina and Francesco Capurro will instead carry on the board the experience of Quattro R, a private equity fund that promotes the development of Italian companies of excellence and that has decided to support the project with the investment in full aucap last July. The leadership teams of the two companies are already engaged in a joint and structured work, which will define the new positioning, a new group identity and a new brand architecture. The presentation to the market of the new company is scheduled at the beginning of 2026.
A central role will be the Group’s technological platforms, which will benefit from the integration of data from the proprietary technology platform ONE, which anonymously processes data from over 15 million Italian consumers. In addition to geo and media data, the platform is fully integrated with the EMG panel, the internal research institute that provides analysis and insights on consumer trends and habits and will soon benefit from exclusive data and insights from PLUS and AIQ, Uniting’s tech platforms. This unique heritage of data and insight – powered by AI algorithms and solutions but governed by the human sensitivity of researchers and data scientists – will be centralized in the 3 lines that will constitute the group’s offer backbone: creativity & experiences, media & touchpoints, retail & commerce. A unique and innovative approach in the Italian landscape, which returns the deep sense of the consolidation project: to have the courage to raise the asticella of ambition without losing its genuine and profound side, that passion in ‘doing well the things’ that characterized the previous entrepreneurial stories of the founders.
An approach that best expresses the talent of the more than 400 people involved in the new adventure, to continue to offer to the more than 300 customers – including Amazon, Barilla, Bayer, Blackrock, Bmw, Brico IO, Coca Cola, Danone, Ferrarelle, Fhp Generali, Kellanova, Klepierre, Haier, Heineken, Irealliad, Iren, Il Sole 24 Ore.
-Photo press office Next Different-
(ITALPRESS).
