Private equity and venture capital in Italy

In 2017, the Italian private equity and venture capital market continued the trends of 2016 and 2015, although final figures are not yet available. Interestingly, to a certain extent, we have seen the return to the Italian market of private equity funds with a pan-European focus, most likely driven by the increase in profits posted by Italian SMEs.

Key deals in 2017

Osborne Clarke Italy worked on a number of notable deals in 2017.

Private equity deals included advising:

• The Valerio S.r.l. shareholders on their €70 million investment from IPE (Investmenti in Private Equity)
• Ristrutturazioni & Sviluppo (a turnaround specialist) on a €10 million investment needed to complete a turnaround transaction in the pharma sector
• The US Norican Group, which is owned by Altor Equity Partners, in the split of the LCMS group, by completing a leverage buy out for €86 million to purchase Italpresse S.p.A. and Gauss S.p.
• Hollyport on the purchase of the Quadrivio SGR portfolio of companies and interests

Venture capital deals included advising:

• PA Group and its founders on the €8 million investment and €7.5 million financing by River Rock European Capital Partners LLP and FVS Capital
• Xnext S.r.l. and its founders on the €8 million investment by Principia III Health
• Red Lyons on the €2 million acquisition of a majority stake in Akern Srl, active in tech-pharma
• PA Group, River Rock European Capital Partners LLP and FVS Capital on their purchase of InAsset S.r.l., by means of a leverage buy out, for €14 million