Founding Shareholders of Il Fatto Quotidiano Publisher Reject LMDV Media Takeover

A potential takeover of Società Editoriale Il Fatto (SEIF), the publisher of Italy’s *Il Fatto Quotidiano* newspaper, has been halted after its founding shareholders announced they would not sell their majority stake. The move effectively blocks an attempt by investor LMDV Media to acquire the company and take it private.

Founders Block Takeover Bid

Seven founding shareholders of SEIF informed the company they do not intend to sell their shares or participate in any public tender offer from LMDV Media, according to a statement from the publisher. The group includes Antonio Padellaro, Cinzia Monteverdi, Francesco Aliberti, Peter Gomez, Marco Travaglio, Marco Lillo, and Luca d’Aprile.

This collective refusal prevents LMDV Media from gaining the necessary control to proceed with its acquisition plan. The development came after LMDV Media announced on Sunday that its board had approved a confirmatory due diligence review to explore a possible voluntary public tender offer for all of SEIF's shares.

Key Ownership Threshold

The founders' decision is critical due to SEIF's specific corporate governance rules. For a takeover to succeed and remove certain ownership restrictions, an acquirer would need to gain control of at least 82.9% of the company's voting capital.

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Reaching this supermajority threshold is required to lift a statutory cap that prevents any single entity from holding more than 17% of SEIF’s share capital. With the majority-holding founders refusing to sell, this threshold has become unattainable for LMDV Media.

Context and Next Steps

SEIF was established in Rome in 2009 and is led by Chair and Chief Executive Cinzia Monteverdi. In addition to its flagship daily newspaper and news website, the company also operates the monthly magazine *MillenniuM* and the publishing house Paper First.

The publisher's board of directors is expected to convene in the coming days to formally examine LMDV Media’s initial proposal and the subsequent rejection by the founding shareholders.