The interest in Italian medium enterprises is increasing, thanks to a renewed appeal of Italy to international investors and to the positive drive of EU regulations.
While other EU countries are still far away, signals coming from Italian private equity clearly indicate that this sector is growing thanks to a renewed appeal of Italy to international investors. This is great news for those Italian businesses that have developed good growth projects but so far have faced difficulties in finding the necessary financial resources due to high circumspection of banks in granting credit.
Among others, Stefano Salvadeo was also interviewed on this matter, and he sees a positive outlook for the future. “In the investment teams of Italian desks of many international funds English is increasingly used as the main language and investment committees include almost always international representatives of the various local offices. Besides contributing to expanding the Italian strategic positioning, this fosters an unparalleled cultural integration process.”
“Among the top 50 companies listed on the Milan stock exchange there are those which have a past experience with private equity (so-called private equity-backed companies), including Prysmian, Moncler, Yoox, and Anima Sgr.” The analysis made by Stefano Salvadeo indicates a possible way through for those businesses that have been participated by private equity funds. “A great sign of development of Italy is the increase in venture capital, which has always been one of the weaknesses of our country and whose impact on competition has always disadvantaged Italy at an international level. After years registering few dozens of operations per year, in 2015 there were as much as 122 early stage deals, representing 35% of the whole market.
