The families at the heart of Italian health care
Italian industrialists have a penchant for investing in health care services. And it is striking how many of the major groups in Italy are controlled by wealthy families.
Most recently in April 2022, Exor, the listed conglomerate which is controlled by the Agnelli family of Fiat fame, took a 45% stake in Lifenet for a total investment of €71m. Other big investors include the Di Benedetto (Olivetti) family which controls the listed conglomerate CIR Group which owns Grupo Kos. Then we have Paolo Rocca, the CEO and owner of Techint Group, the massive engineering group with sales of $25bn, which owns Humanitas, the second largest Italian hospital group. And, finally, we have the Rotelli family which controls San Donato, by far the largest Italian hospital group with revenues of over €1.6bn.
It is also fair to assume that these groups face financial pressures. Last week we reported that Paolo Rotelli has confirmed that the group has spent €500m building two flash new Milan hospitals. He also said the fuel bill soared €50m in 2022. Kos acquired Charleston, a large German nursing home group in 2019, just before Covid hit.
And the Agnelli family’s investment in Lifenet? Many think Bedin was lucky to sell a stake in the spring of 2022. Exor didn’t disclose Lifenet’s revenue in its 2022 report and accounts but did reveal that the group lost €3m in 2022 despite “strong revenue growth”. Since the deal, Lifenet doesn’t appear to have made any acquisitions with staff totalling 1,500 in ten locations. Rivals San Donato and Garofalo are doing roughly €140,000 and €89,000 per capita so assuming €100,000 per capita suggests Lifenet revenue of circa €150m. Assume a generous 20% EBITDA and Exor appears to have paid 8-9 times EBITDA.
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