Italy’s billionaire Agnelli family has acquired a 15 per cent stake in Dutch conglomerate Philips in a roughly $2.6bn transaction, backing the group’s effort to shift away from consumer electronics to healthcare following a costly product recall.
As part of the deal announced on Monday, Exor, the Agnellis’ holding company, can increase its stake to 20 per cent and gain a seat on Philips’ board. Exor said it intended to be a “long-term minority investor”.
The investment comes as 132-year-old Philips, once best known for producing branded lightbulbs, shifts from electronics towards health technology — a move marred by the recall of millions of the company’s respiratory devices since 2021.