RCS MediaGroup S p A : MEDIA GROUP, KRYALOS SGR AND BLACKSTONE ANNOUNCE SETTLEMENT OF MILAN OFFICE DISPUTE

Milan, 15 July 2022 - RCS Media Group S.p.A. ("RCS"), Kryalos SGR S.p.A. on behalf of Delphine Fund ("Kryalos"), and Blackstone announce the settlement of their dispute regarding RCS's 2013 sale of an office complex in Milan, Italy to Kryalos.

This dispute began with a claim by RCS in July 2018 that the 2013 sale of the Properties to Kryalos and Blackstone should be invalidated. In November 2018, an arbitration was commenced in the Chamber of Arbitration of Milan and lawsuits were initiated in New York. In May 2020 and May 2021, the tribunal in the Milan arbitration issued decisions finding that the 2013 sale was valid.

The settlement will result in a mutual release of all legal claims and RCS agreed to contribute to the fees incurred by Blackstone for Euro 10 million. In addition, RCS will purchase for a price of Euro 59.9 million a portion of the disputed office complex - namely, the historic Via Solferino headquarters for Corriere della Sera.

Urbano Cairo, President and CEO of RCS, said, "We are pleased to have reached a settlement with Kryalos and Blackstone of all pending litigations and to have the opportunity to purchase back the historic Via Solferino headquarters building. We accept the decisions of both the Arbitral Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, which found that the actions of Kryalos and Blackstone were proper and that there was no misconduct or bad faith in relation to the 2013 transaction. Accordingly, RCS acknowledges that neither Blackstone nor Kryalos committed any wrongdoing and regrets any inconvenience caused by the dispute. Furthermore, we thank Mr. Claudio Calabi for his assistance in this settlement".

Paolo Bottelli, CEO of Kryalos, said "We have always been confident of our having acted professionally and in the best interests of our unitholders, and we are satisfied with this positive resolution of this dispute".

Blackstone has said, "We are grateful to the Milan arbitration panel and the Milan Court of Appeal for confirming that Blackstone operated entirely properly with regard to the 2013 acquisition. We are pleased that this dispute is now resolved for the benefit of our investors".

* * *

About Blackstone Real Estate

Blackstone is a global leader in real estate investing. Blackstone's real estate business was founded in 1991 and has US $298 billion of investor capital under management. Blackstone is the largest owner of commercial real estate globally, owning and operating assets across every major geography and sector, including logistics, residential, office, hospitality and retail. Our opportunistic funds seek to acquire undermanaged, well-located assets across the world. Blackstone's Core+ business invests in substantially stabilized real estate assets globally, through both institutional strategies and strategies tailored for income-focused individual investors including Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. (BREIT), a U.S. non-listed REIT, and Blackstone's European yield-oriented strategy. Blackstone Real Estate also operates one of the leading global real estate debt businesses, providing comprehensive financing solutions across the capital structure and risk spectrum, including management of Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE: BXMT).

About Kryalos SGR

Kryalos SGR, with €10.7 billion of assets under management and a specialized team of 105 professionals having a deep expertise in the real estate industry (office, retail, shopping centers and outlets, logistics, hotels and residential), is one of the leading and most active players in the Italian real estate market. Kryalos SGR provides fund management, transaction management, advisory and development services and is a partner of Italian and international leaders.

About RCS

RCS MediaGroup is one of the leading multimedia publishing groups, operating primarily in Italy and Spain across all publishing areas, from newspapers to magazines and books, from TV to new media and education, as well as being one of the top players on the advertising sales market, organizing iconic events and renowned sporting formats such as the Giro d'Italia. The RCS Group publishes the daily newspapers Corriere della Sera, La Gazzetta dello Sport, El Mundo, Marca and Expansion, as well as numerous magazines, the most popular including Oggi, Amica, Io Donna, 7 and Telva.