John Elkann (seen here with Fiat Group board member Ratan Tata at the start of the Ferrari Magic India Discovery Tour in February) is set to be nominated as IFIL Chairman next week.

John Elkann, the 33-year-old grandson of Gianni Agnelli and Vice-President of Fiat Group is set to become the Chairman of the family's main investment holding company IFIL, which has stocks worth around 8 billion euros under its management and is the biggest stockholder in the Italian automotive group through its 30.45 pct stake.

Elkann, who is expected in the future to become Fiat Group Chairman, will be nominated to replace the current 83-year-old IFIL Chairman Gianluigi Gabetti who will stand down when the board meet on May 13. "We've reached the end of the road, John Elkann is more than ready," Gabetti, who has mentored Elkann since Gianni Agnelli's death five years ago, told Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera this week. "Everything will go as planned," he added.

IFIL S.p.A. is one of Europe's leading investment companies, controlled by the Agnelli family. Founded in 1919, it is headquartered in Turin and listed on the Italian stock exchange. IFIL conducts diversified investments on an international scale with entrepreneurial vision and solid financial backing. At the same time, it cooperates continuously with the management teams of its holdings, while respecting their right to operate autonomously and with a perspective geared to the medium-/long-term.

IFIL's capital stock amounts to 1,075,995,737 euros and consists of 1,038,612,717 ordinary shares and 37,383,020 savings shares with a par value of 1 euro each. There are approximately 30,000 stockholders with the controlling stockholder being IFI (Istituto Finanziario Industriale S.p.A). IFI is another Agnelli family investment vehicle and holds approximately 64 percent of IFIL stock.

IFIL S.p.A. major investments

Fiat S.p.A., in which IFIL S.p.A. has a holding of more than 30% of ordinary and preferred capital stock, is listed on the Electronic Share Market of the Italian stock exchange (Blue Chip segment). Founded in 1899, the Fiat Group operates in the sectors of automobiles (Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Ferrari, Maserati and Fiat Light Commercial), agricultural and construction equipment (Case and New Holland), trucks and commercial vehicles, buses and special-purpose vehicles (Iveco, Irisbus, Astra and Magirus), components and production systems (Fiat Powertrain Technologies, Magneti Marelli, Teksid and Comau ); it is also active in publishing and communications (La Stampa and Publikmpass). Other sectors also offer financial services to the sales networks and the clientele in addition to rental services to customers.

Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) Group in which the subsidiary Ifil Investissements S.A. has a 70.18% stake, is the largest privately held company for real estate services. The C&W Group has its headquarters in New York, where it was founded in 1917, and now has 221 offices and 15,000 employees in 58 countries.

Sequana Capital S.A. in which Ifil Investissements S.A. has a 26.65% stake, is a French company listed on the Euronext market which in 2006 has focused its operations on the paper sector where it operates through: Arjowiggins S.A. (100% holding), the world leader in the manufacture of high value-added paper products, with 7,800 employees in 82 countries; and Antalis S.A. (100% holding), the leading European group in the distribution of paper products for printing and writing, with over 8,400 employees in 44 countries.

Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. in which IFIL S.p.A. has a 2.45% stake in ordinary capital stock, is a listed on the Electronic Share Market of the Italian stock exchange (Blue Chip segment).It is one of the most important banking groups in Europe and is the foremost bank in Italy with a market share of 20% on average in all segments of business (retail, corporate and wealth management). With its network of 6,100 branches, the group offers its services to 10.7 million customers. It also operates in 13 Central-East European countries and in the Mediterranean basin with 1,200 branches and 7.2 million customers in the retail and commercial banking sectors. It also has an international network specialized in corporate customer support covering 34 nations including the United States, Russia, China end India.

SGS S.A. in which Ifil Investissements S.A. has a 15% stake, is a Swiss company listed on the Virt-x market. Founded in 1878, the company is today the global leader in verification, inspection, control and certification activities with 50,000 employees and a network of more than 1,000 offices and laboratories throughout the world.

Gruppo Banca Leonardo S.p.A. in which Ifil Investissements S.A. has a 9.78% stake, is an independent investment bank offering corporate finance advisory and asset management services; it also provides private equity services under a joint venture with a leading European group.

Alpitour S.p.A. in which IFIL S.p.A. has a 100% stake, is the largest integrated group in the tourist sector in Italy. It operates with 4,000 employees and has more than 2.3 million customers across all areas of the tourism business: Tour Operating (Alpitour, Francorosso, Viaggidea, Villaggi Bravo, Volando and Karambola), Hotels (Alpitour World Hotel & Resorts), Incoming (Jumbo Tours), Aviation (Neos), Distribution (Welcome Travel Group) and Intentive & Eventi (A World of Events).

Juventus Football Club S.p.A. in which IFIL S.p.A. has a 60% stake, is listed on the Electronic Share Market of the Italian stock exchange (Star segment). Founded in 1897, it is one of the most prominent professional soccer teams in the world.