Skira Editore sells stakes to Carlo De Benedetti and Massimo Moratti

Skira Editore, Italy's leading publisher of art books and exhibition catalogs, has sold minority stakes to Carlo De Benedetti and Massimo Moratti as part of a capital strengthening plan amid the COVID-19 crisis. The publisher, which employs about 50 people and had a net turnover of €15 million in 2019, saw its patron Massimo Vitta Zelman propose the entry of the two businessmen. De Benedetti's Editoriale Domani, founded in May 2020 in Turin with a capital of €10 million to publish the new daily Domani, now holds 15% of Skira. Massimo Moratti S.A.p.A holds 7.5%, while Vitta Zelman's Libra retains 77.5%. The move is described as a friendly request to support publishing during the pandemic. Founded by Albert Skira in Lausanne in 1928, the publisher moved to Geneva and was acquired by Vitta Zelman and Giorgio Fantoni in 1996. It now has offices in Milan and Paris, publishes 200 new titles annually, and produces major exhibitions and museum services.