Genoa – “We are working on two more acquisitions that we will complete in the spring of 2026; these are also family-owned businesses. We aim to grow organically but also through acquisitions and aggregations of other realities like our own. There is too much fragmentation in the maritime agency and broker sector; this risks making companies easy prey for the likes of Inchcape or large foreign investors interested in entering Italy.” This was stated by Giulio Schenone, president and CEO of Medov Group (€103 million in consolidated revenue and over 300 employees worldwide), who celebrated with a special ceremony at Palazzo della Meridiana in Genoa the rebranding and reorganization of his group, whose operational activities have all been brought under the former Gruppo Investimenti Portuali (Gip).
In more detail, on March 14 of last year, Gip sold its holdings in Vecon (34.6%) and in Psa Genoa Investments NV (38%) with a capital gain of €178.5 million compared to the book value. The leveraged buyout operation was completed through the establishment of Cherry Bidco Srl, which acquired 95% of Gip using €350 million in financing; subsequently (June 2024), a reverse merger was carried out, with Cherry being merged into the acquiring entity Gruppo Investimenti Portuali. To achieve the final reorganization of the Genoese group, there was also a demerger operation through which the parent company I.L. Investimenti Srl transferred to Gip the holdings it held in the logistics sector: namely Gip 2.0 (of which it holds 10%), Bolzaneto Container Terminal (50%), Janua Algor (70%), Logtainer (20%), Medov Logistics (100%), and Fmv Industrial Infrastructure Fund I. The latter is the company through which Schenone reinvested (€5 million) in Psa “being today a small shareholder without an executive role.”
With this rebranding, “the group’s companies will be much more easily recognizable and linked to Medov,” continues the Genoese entrepreneur, emphasizing that he is “on the lookout to seize other investment and partnership opportunities.” Regarding alliances, in addition to the recently announced acquisition of the La Spezia-based Programma Mare, one should not forget the maritime agency Sinalefi, established 50/50 with Finsea, and which recently saw the entry of the Romeo family’s Sider Navi (Nova Marine Carriers) with an equal 33% stake. It is precisely “in yachting” (where the group is also active through San Giorgio Yachting) and “in assisting vessels engaged in maritime works” that Schenone sees growth prospects for the maritime agency business in the future: “The maritime agency market is very mature; in this niche, you need to know how to stand out, and we try to do different things.” The relationship of trust built by Sinalefi with Fincantieri Infrastructure for the works on Genoa’s new breakwater is a model that could be replicated in other similar projects around Italy, starting, for example, with the construction of the maritime works for the Darsena Europa in Livorno.
Although he now looks to the future also seeking opportunities for alliances and partnerships, the name of Giulio Schenone, even in the recent past, has often been at the center of no-holds-barred battles over economic interests, power, and personalism in the port of Genoa and beyond.
His ‘poor rapport’ with Gianluigi Aponte (the owner of MSC) and with the Spinelli family is known. Insurmountable contrasts? “There is nothing insurmountable in the world, just look at what is happening in Gaza,” he replies, adding, however, that “there must be respect for the rules by everyone, and if that is lacking, someone is needed to enforce the rules. Common sense should prevail over personal interests, but if everyone is not playing with the same deck of cards…”. The tacit reference is to the dispute between PSA Sech and Genoa Port Terminal, which for the last two years has been a major issue in the courts and on the Genoese docks, and not only there.
A chapter that the new president of the port authority, Matteo Paroli, has resolved by obtaining the Management Committee’s approval for the resolution to renew the concession until 2054. “My opinion on Paroli? I have known him,” he replies, “since he was the secretary general in Livorno and I was following Terminal Darsena Toscana; he is certainly a person of great competence and balance. Perhaps the air of Genoa is not so salubrious because I did not like the beginning, but he will have time to demonstrate that he can do even better. Mine, obviously, is a completely personal opinion.”
