Investment company Exor has acquired a 15 percent stake in Philips. The investor is owned by the Italian Agnelli family, which is also behind brands such as the automaker Fiat and the football club Juventus.

With this investment, the family immediately becomes the largest shareholder of Philips. The Agnelli family is paying 2.6 billion euros for this stake. There are no plans to further expand their ownership.

Through this deal, the family aims to become more actively involved in the healthcare technology sector. This area has been the focus of the Dutch company for several years, which initially gained recognition for its home electronics.

The investor, managing a total of 33 billion euros in investments, expressed full support for Philips’ new focus on healthcare technology.

“The new direction that Philips has taken in recent years has created a company that combines two areas – healthcare and technology – that we strongly believe in,” says CEO John Elkann.

Last year, Exor also invested 1 billion euros in healthcare technology.

In recent years, Philips has indeed focused on technology in the healthcare sector. Significant divisions, such as the lighting division, have been sold or spun off.

For the past two years, the Eindhoven-based company has faced issues with its devices for sleep apnea patients. Philips has had to recall millions of devices worldwide because the sound-dampening foam can deteriorate. These issues have already cost the company a significant amount of money.