Because Il Sole 24 Ore burns itself on training
What the Sole 24 Ore group is up to in the field of training. Facts, insights and quirks
A curious advertisement is circulating on the Internet these days, from Sole 24 Ore , which has as its copy: The only training school of the Sole 24 Ore is “Sole 24 Ore training”, while “24 Ore Business school” does not belong to the group . Replaced in the last few hours by another one of equal caliber: Only if it says “Sun” is the Scuola del Sole 24 Ore .
This is enough to understand that the return to the field of training of the Group headed by Confindustria is taking place in a confusing and botched way. But it's too tempting a market to let it slip away. According to MF from 4.5 billion between postgraduate courses, masters, refresher courses for professionals, state, etc … while the Edtech Observatory says that the turnover of Italian education technology providers is equal to around 19.5 billion euros .
WHY IS THE 24 HOUR BUSINESS SCHOOL NOT FROM THE SUN?
Every year students from all over Italy arrive in Milan and pass through the turnstiles of the glass building designed by Renzo Piano in Viale Monte Rosa, former headquarters of the Milanese editorial staff of Il Sole and Radio24 . But it doesn't mean that they know that now the 24 Ore Business School has nothing to do with the historical business daily.
They probably haven't read the many advertisements from Il Sole or the article "Gruppo 24 Ore makes a grand return to training activities" or, again, the many notes that the marketing section has frantically sent to the newspapers ( here the report from La Stampa , here from Affari Italians ) in which a message as simple as it is desperate is conveyed: "The Business School24 has been a separate reality from the Group since 2019".
THE CONTESTED LOGOS
We are in the middle of summer, millions of pupils will soon decide which courses to take in September and Il Sole therefore has very little time to get the message across (the new training school of Il Sole 24 Ore has been operational since February 2023 with the Telefisco and Master Accountancy and Taxation, but the complete catalog of Masters will start only in the autumn). The market, let us not forget, is worth billions.
But how is it possible that Il Sole no longer owns part of its logo? In 2019, the 24 Ore Group sold 100% of Business School24 to the Palamon Capital Fund, for this reason today the company Business School24 is to be understood as a distinct and independent reality with respect to Il Sole 24 Ore . A few days ago, the school born two decades ago returned to Italy: it was in fact acquired by Digit'Ed, branch of the training of Nextalia sgr, the asset management company promoted by the former banker of Mediobanca, Francesco Canzonieri, which sees among shareholders Intesa Sanpaolo, Unipol, Confindustria and Coldiretti.
But let's go back to sales again in 2019. We don't know if at the time the Group headed by Confindustria had other plans and wanted to say goodbye forever to training (it was the year before the pandemic, the training market was already growing, but it exploded above all later, with the need to digitize the country and the funds of the PNRR), or if, due to the need for money, he signed a lump sum contract, the fact is that there are two clauses that have put him in difficulty. The first is non-competition, with terms that expired last October keeping the seller out of the industry until yesterday. The second, of course, is brand ownership.
The non-competition clause is mandatory, it is monetised, but there is little that can be done. With regard to the brand, however, it remains to be understood what causes the presumed inattention/disaffection of the Group which led the buyer to also acquire the name 24 Ore linked to the Business School. In all likelihood, but it is conjecture, the money: it is one thing to sell a school, another a school with that historic and prestigious brand that is obviously linked to the magazine.
THE WORD “SUN” REMAINS IN THE SUN FOR TRAINING…
Moreover, precisely in the article that the newspaper dedicates to its return with great pomp to the world of training, we read: “Since the 1970s, Il Sole 24 Ore has gradually built up a wealth of authority and reputation based on two elements. The first element was – is – the technical competence of the journalistic corps. The second element was – is – the composition of the databases, an essential tool for professionals in the regulatory, fiscal and legal fields and, then, for specialists active in economic research, manufacturing and financial market operations”.
We have not seen the contract nor is it up to us to interpret it, but it is clear that the sale of the brand was monetized precisely because of the history of the same. The problem is that now Il Sole 24 Ore risks paying for the choice made in 2019: in fact, the Group has re-entered the education sector with "Sole 24 Ore Formazione", in a joint venture with Multiversity – i.e. the group behind Università Mercatorum, Pegaso and San Raffaele in Rome -, controlled by the British-Luxembourg fund CVC ( which has just signed a contract for training in the PA ) and with Fabio Vaccarono as CEO (and coincidentally already head of the Sole 24 Ore group.
…BUT THE 24 ORE BUSINESS SCHOOL DOESN'T FIT
“When last year – il Messaggero reconstructed in recent days in a critical article on Multiversity – Il Sole decided to re-enter the training business at the end of the non-competition period, after having sold the business school to Palamon, it this was done by bringing to the BoD (il Sole is a listed company) a legal opinion on the use of the brand which appears to conflict with the contract between Sole and Palamon. In fact, it is certain that it cannot use the 24ore brand in the world of training and in fact the advertising they are carrying, despite the company being called Sole 24 ore Formazione, reads "if Sole 24 ore is not written there, it is not the school of Sole 24 ore" .
"The most curious issue – on which some are awaiting an opinion from Consob – (the Roman newspaper always notes) is the presence of Fabio Vaccarono (MD of Multiversity) on the Sole board which approved the start of the operation with Multiversity" .
In short, that of the Sole 24 Ore in the training business is truly an uphill return, because in the meantime the business has not only exploded, between remote and face-to-face courses, filling up with competitors that will lead to market saturation, but The Group del Sole finds the school that sold it and which continues to maintain the brand to be its competitor. It's true, the font has changed, but just go to the Business School's social networks to notice a not insignificant detail: in addition to part of the brand, it also uses a pink which, even if slightly darker, inevitably refers to what it dyes the pages of the economic masthead.
If we add to this the presence in the logo of a square that is often used by the Confindustria newspaper for collateral activities (see the 24 Professionale logo : same square), we can understand the Group's concern in wanting to warn potential customers that they it has (anymore) nothing to do with the Business School.
And so Sole 24 Ore training was born. Always font, obviously pink background. “A fact – writes il Messaggero – that the fund and the 24 Ore Business School did not like, so much so that it led it to file a lawsuit against the Confindustria publishing group, which is one of the large shareholders of Nextalia sgr, now owner of historical business school of the Sun through Digit'Ed”. The question of shareholders is even more intricate than that of logos which could lead to the paradox for Il Sole not being able to put its own brand on collateral activities.
THE OPEN LETTER ON THE 24 HOURS BS WEBSITE
"Dear Students, dear Alumni, dear Teachers and dear future members of our community, I am writing to shed some light on some news circulating from various sources and media campaigns on various channels that are threatening to cause some confusion" , is the incipit of the letter written by Manuel Mandelli, CEO of 24 Ore Business School and published on the official website. 24 Ore Business School, as you know, was founded in 1994 by the Sole 24 Ore Group which managed and developed it for 23 years with the commitment and passion of the many people who are still happily part of it. In 2017 the Sole 24 Ore Group decided to sell it, leaving the world of education, thus selling 24 Ore Business School, its employees, its catalog and brands to the English investment fund Palamon Capital Partners which took over the baton by relaunching its growth with renewed drive and enthusiasm”.
"Probably – Mandelli reconstructs – also due to the performance of this sector in which we have been protagonists in recent years, the Sole 24 Ore Group has recently decided to participate, with 15%, in the opening of a new, different training company 85% controlled by the Multiversity Group, owner of the Pegaso telematic university, as well as other similar training bodies. This newborn company was called Sole 24 Ore Formazione but it has nothing to do with our historic 24 Ore Business School born 29 years ago and with our activities, nor with our 400 masters and catalog courses”, the clarification of the Ceo, similar to what can be found in the columns of the economic newspaper.
“We are aware of the fact – continues the managing director of the business school – that the presence of the expression “24 Hours” in the logo of the new school controlled by Pegaso creates confusion on the market. For this reason, we would have deemed it appropriate for this new company to adopt a brand that could not be confused with those we own and that there should be no references to the history of the 24ORE Business School which was sold years ago. For this reason, despite ourselves, we had to initiate legal proceedings at the Court of Milan in order to put an end to these risks of confusion."
THE REPLY ON THE SOLE 24 ORE
«With reference to the communication released on 26 July 2023, by Business School 24 SpA on its website following the completion of the acquisition operation carried out by the Digit'Ed Group», explains a press release, «Il Sole 24 Ore SpA is keen to clarify how much follows. Without going into detail in the correction of a misleading and tendentious reconstruction under several profiles, the Company cannot fail to contest certain statements that are completely without foundation".
The reference is in particular to the section of the communication aimed at "clarifying" a situation described as one of "confusion" with regard to the re-entry of the 24 Ore Group into the training sector through the company Sole 24 Ore Formazione in partnership with the Multiversity Group, in which Business School 24 SpA writes the following among other things: «We are aware of the fact that the presence of the expression “24 Hours” in the brand of the new school […] creates confusion on the market. For this reason, we would have deemed it appropriate for this new company to adopt a brand that could not be confused with those we own and that there should be no references to the history of the 24ORE Business School which was sold years ago. For this reason, despite ourselves, we had to initiate legal proceedings at the Court of Milan in order to put an end to these risks of confusion".
In this regard, explains the 24 Ore Group, «we clarify that the re-entry of the 24 Ore Group into the training sector was envisaged by the agreements stipulated in the context of the sale of Business School 24 SpA in favor of the Palamon Group and took place in full compliance with the conditions defendants, also and specifically as regards the brand adopted, i.e. Sole 24 Ore Formazione. This trademark, in the light of the agreements entered into and the recognized distinctive value of each sign containing the phrase "Sole 24 Ore", cannot therefore generate any confusion within the reference market, as the Company has asked the Court of Milan to ascertain in the judgment mentioned by Business School 24 SpA»
In the light of all this history, the bizarre advertising crowding the web and social networks which we mentioned at the beginning is starting to explain itself: "The only training school of the Sole 24 Ore is "Sole 24 Ore Formazione", while "24 Ore Business school" does not belong to the group". A slogan that seems to recall those of the commercials of the past ("beware of imitations"), but which has its roots in the mess that sees the two groups contending for part of the logo.
Certainly these corporate and communicative messes are very little educational…
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/sole-24-ore-formazione/ on Sun, 30 Jul 2023 05:41:38 +0000.