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john elkann

Family business roundup: 21st Century Fox, Fiat, Bestway

July 18, 2014

Murdoch merger rebuffed by Time Warner; Family-owned Fiat denies Volkswagen takeover bid and Bestway buy Co-op pharmacy in multi-million pound deal

Murdoch merger rebuffed by Time Warner

Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has had an $80 billion (€59.1 billion) merger deal rejected by US rival Time Warner.

When familial ties force a young next-gen into leadership

July 17, 2014

A fresh-faced CEO straight out of business school isn't always the person to inspire public and investor confidence, but circumstances sometimes force a young candidate into the top spot at a family firm.

Picking a chief executive for any family business is a tough task. It is especially problematic if the company is bent on keeping a family member in the top job. This was the conundrum Gianni Agnelli faced when trying to prepare an heir to take the wheel of his family’s iconic Italian car brand Fiat. Drug addiction in his only son and then stomach cancer in his nephew saw his pool of potential successors whittled down to his 21-year-old grandson John Elkann.

Fiat’s Italian family business image damaged as it turns global

February 24, 2014

Fifth-generation family business Fiat is losing its image as an Italian company, according to an Italian business expert, as it expands globally and moves its tax affairs and company registration to other European countries.

Founded by Giovanni Agnelli in 1899, the company is now headed by fifth-gen John Elkann, who confirmed this month that the carmaker was moving its tax domicile to the UK and registering its business in the Netherlands.

Fiat signs Chrysler purchase agreement

January 2, 2014

Italian family business Fiat has welcomed in the New Year by signing an agreement to purchase the remaining stake it does not already own in US carmaker Chrysler.

Italian family business Fiat has welcomed in the New Year by signing an agreement to purchase the remaining stake it does not already own in US carmaker Chrysler.

The $3.65 billion (€2.67 billion) agreement ends a stand off between Fiat, which is owned by family-controlled holding company Exor, and a retiree healthcare trust over the value of the company.

Veba, associated with the United Auto Workers union, argued its 41.5% stake was worth $5 billion, while Fiat said it was worth half that amount.

Fiat Capitalism

November 6, 2013

John Elkann heads one of the world’s biggest conglomerates. But he wants to be more than just another boss of a big multinational. He wants to change the world. CampdenFB reports.

John Elkann is on a mission. The fifth-generation owner and manager of one of the biggest industrial groups in the world wants capitalism to change. With his boyish face, soft voice, reserved – even diffident – style he might make an unlikely evangelist, but he is deadly serious.

Family business roundup: Fiat doubles media stake; Ottobock and Pohlig join forces

July 3, 2013

Fiat doubles its share in an Italian publishing group while German family firms Ottobock and Pohlig join forces for a greater footprint in the orthopaedics sector.

Fiat

Fiat – controlled by the Agnelli family's Exor – has announced it will double its holding in struggling Italian publishing group RCS MediaGroup from 10% to 20%.

Roots schmoots

July 25, 2012

A generation of globalised, jet-set MBAs are just starting to take over family businesses. But if they ignore the importance of place, they’ll lose something very valuable indeed.

Making and breaking relationships

May 4, 2012

You win some and you lose some, the adage goes. And this month saw a bit of both with two carmaking family businesses, Fiat and Tata, bringing to an end their six-year sales relationship, while Kuehne+Nagel, a Swiss logistics family company, extended its partnership with a subsidiary of LVMH.

Exor to buy stake in Rothschild

April 18, 2012

Exor, a holding company controlled by Italy’s Agnelli family, will buy a stake in the Rothschild Group, making good its announcement earlier this month that it will focus on taking “minority stakes” in strong businesses.

A spokeswoman for Exor confirmed to CampdenFB that the company, chaired by family member John Elkann, is looking to buy shares in Paris Orleans, the holding company of the Rothschild Group.

“Day of joy” for Agnelli family as new Fiat Panda is unveiled

December 15, 2011

Pandas have been making headlines a lot recently, thanks to China and Scotland joining forces to bring some of the cuddly-looking creatures to Edinburgh zoo. Now an entirely different type of panda – the Fiat Panda – has caught the attention of the press after the Italian carmaker unveiled the latest model.

The compact city car boasts four airbags, ABS and daytime running lights as standard, as well as its well-regarded two-cylinder TwinAir engine.