Health is the business in which Exor is increasingly betting, the safe of the heirs of the Agnelli dynasty, with investments of one billion in 2022. Substantial resources obtained largely from the sale (closed last year) of PartnerRe, a global reinsurer, for the French Covea. A commitment, that of the medical area, announced last November 30th by the CEO, John Elkann, during the meeting with the press on the occasion of Investor Day. With the sale of the insurer, around ten billion entered the cash register and dell’Avvocato’s nephew explained: «We hope to use 500 million for a buyback and reduce the debt from 4.5 to 4 billion at the end of 2022. There are still 9 billion left euros that we are going to invest in the sectors of greatest interest: health, luxury and technology ». No sooner said than done. In the letter to shareholders on the occasion of the presentation of the financial statements for 2022, Gianni Agnelli’s heir illustrated the last steps of the holding company’s diversification strategy in relation to traditional businesses. Elkann explained that “after luxury, the target now is healthcare, a strategic sector in which Exor has invested almost a billion in 2022”. Thus, at least eight others remain in the portfolio to occupy a sector in which large public resources will be concentrated in the coming years. The assumption of the head of the company is clear. In communications to shareholders, he explained that “in a world with a growing and longer-lived population, there is an increasing need to reduce costs and improve the quality of health systems, creating interesting opportunities for the use of capital”. “In the last twenty years – he underlined – all health subsectors have surpassed the MSCI World index in terms of total annualized profitability”. In short, investing in the health sector guarantees profit.
And as a testament to the growing interest, last year Exor made two major acquisitions. At the end of April, in fact, it took over 44.7% of Lifenet Healthcare through a reserved capital increase of 67 million. The company is led by Nicola Bedin who, from 2005 to 2017, was at the head of the San Donato hospital group, a leading giant in Italian private healthcare and owner of the San Raffaele hospital in Milan. In 2018, however, Bedin stepped down as CEO of San Donato to found the company specializing in hospital services that Exor joined. It is a holding company that employs more than 1,500 people and manages around ten facilities, including hospitals and large clinics, in Lombardy, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna and Lazio. And it is precisely in this last region that activism is high. Last January, Lifenet completed the acquisition of 100% of Casa di Cura Città di Aprilia. A structure founded in 1960 by the Sirri family in the municipality of the same name, and which today is a private hospital accredited by the National Health Service, with an Emergency Room that handles around 30,000 people a year. A jewel that adds to the Regina Apostolorum Hospital in Albano Laziale already among the properties of the group led by Bedin and acquired in 2021. Also this structure, founded in the 1960s by Blessed Giacomo Alberione, is an NHS accredited hospital with around 200 beds with more than 360 doctors, technicians, nurses, administrative and specialized personnel. The growth strategy at Lazio is therefore well established.
When announcing the new acquisition, Bedin did not hide his desire to put down roots in the region: «The Casa de Repouso Città di Aprilia is a reality of great importance for the area, made up of people of great quality, both in the medical and non-medical fields. . We are very motivated to commit ourselves, with passion and method, to a new phase of this historic structure”. A descent in force, therefore, for central Italy because the corporate assets include, in addition to the two structures in Lazio, the Piccole Figlie Hospital in Parma, the Lazzaro Spallanzani Medical Center in Reggio Emilia and the Diagnostic Medical Center (CeMeDi) in Turin. And it’s not over yet. The second big deal closed in 2022 confirms that the expansion of interests in the medical sector is not temporary. About two months after joining Lifenet, on July 1, 2022, Exor signed a “long-term” partnership with the Institut Mérieux de Lyon to acquire 10% of the French group through an 833 million reserved capital increase. Once the transaction closes, Elkann will join the board of directors. A business operation of high symbolic value because it marks an alliance not only between two economic subjects, but also between two entrepreneurial families with a centenary tradition. The Institut Biologique Mérieux was founded in 1897 (two years before Fiat) by the progenitor of the dynasty: Marcel Mérieux, student of Louis Pasteur, considered the founder of modern microbiology. For decades, the group has been among the world leaders in human and animal vaccination, a division that, since the mid-1990s, has been progressively sold and now belongs to the multinational Sanofi. The Institut currently has 22,000 employees in 45 countries around the world, with revenues that, in 2021, reached 4 billion and with a corporate gem: BioMérieux, a listed company and world leader in clinical diagnostics for infectious diseases. “We have long admired the successful entrepreneurial culture of Institut Mérieux and the Mérieux family combined with their passion for solving the most critical medical challenges,” emphasized John Elkann at the signing of the partnership. And in the letter to shareholders, the CEO underlined: “We look forward to supporting the development of your five companies and benefiting from your deep knowledge and experience in our search for future opportunities in the health area”.
But Exor’s health maneuvers aren’t over yet. Yes, because through the venture capital fund Exor Ventures, the holding company invests in startups with high growth potential. One in particular is the experimentation of vaccines with the mRna technique (already used in the anti-Covid vaccine) in therapies against rare diseases and tumors, the second is the development of robotic systems for mass production of specific therapies for patients. “We believe that companies emerging at the intersection of biology and technology will create significant value by addressing key inefficiencies in healthcare through greater personalization, improved manufacturing and greater decentralization of healthcare,” noted Elkann, noting how “care to health” is “increasingly a priority” for Exor. There is certainly no lack of ambitions, not even capital.
Source: IL Tempo
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
