The Agnelli family, which founded Fiat automobiles and have a controlling stake in Ferrari, now Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, over a century ago, are now the top shareholders in ‘The Economist’.
It comes after the purchase of a 27.8% stake in the group from education publisher Pearson (LON:PSON) for £287 million (about US$400 million).
Pearson is offloading a 27.8% holding in The Economist Group to Turin-based Exor Spa, which is controlled by the Agnelli family, for £287mln.
The Economist Group is repurchasing the rest of the shares Pearson owns for £182mln.
It follows last month's sale of the Financial Times Group to Japanese publishing group Nikkei for £844mln.
Pearson is disposing of its media interests to turn itself into an education publisher focused on learning materials in the US and elsewhere.
Analysts believe Pearson will also sell its 47% stake in book publisher Penguin Random House in its drive to target education.
As well as the magazine, which has a circulation of about 1.6 million, The Economist Group also includes Economist.com, the Economist Intelligence Unit, CQ Roll Call and TVC.
In 2014, The Economist Group contributed £21mln to Pearson's operating income and about 3p to adjusted earnings per share.
The deal, which is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, is set to complete in the fourth quarter of 2015.