MILAN (Reuters) – Exor, the holding company of Italy’s Agnelli family, will have about 9 billion euros ($10.2 billion) available for investments next year once it completes the sale of reinsurer PartnerRe, Chief Executive John Elkann said on Tuesday.
The company will also make available another 500 million euros to spend on a share buyback between 2022 and 2024 and 500 million euros to reduce debt next year to 4 billion euros, Elkann added.
Exor in October signed a preliminary accord to sell PartnerRe to French insurance group Covea for $9 billion in cash, reviving a deal that had been derailed by the coronavirus pandemic. The deal is expected to be completed in mid-2022.
Speaking ahead of a presentation of the company’s strategy for the coming years, Elkann, the scion of the Agnelli family, said Exor would spend its cash on companies it already owns and new investments focusing on the luxury, healthcare and technology sectors, especially in North America and Europe but also Asia.
The company will remain open to other industries and geographies, he added.
Exor is the single largest shareholder in carmaker Stellantis and has controlling stakes in luxury sports car maker Ferrari and in industrial vehicle maker CNH Industrial. It also has a controlling stake in Serie A soccer team Juventus
Elkann dismissed rumours of an interest in Italian luxury group Armani.
“We’ve got an excellent relationship with Giorgio Armani and his group. The company is not for sale, it’s important that rumours on our potential interest for it end,” he told journalists.
Last year Exor became the largest shareholder in Chinese luxury group Shang Xia, co-founded by France’s Hermes, and in March it took a 24% holding in high-end shoemaker Louboutin for 540 million euros, fuelling speculation of further expansion in the luxury space.
($1 = 0.8798 euros)
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
