London, 17th March 2024- The 9th edition of the “Equity and Debt Investments in Italy Conference”, the annual event organised by Legance and the Italian Embassy in London, under the patronage of the Ministry of Economics and Finance and the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, which took place this morning at the London Embassy, has just ended.
In the presence of Italian Ambassador Inigo Lambertini and some 200 participants including investors and executives from the City, the event opened with a speech by the Founding and Senior Partner of Legance, Filippo Troisi.
“This conference has now become a regular fixture in our annual programme of activities and a much-awaited event for London investors,” said Ambassador Inigo Lambertini, expressing enthusiasm for the strengthening of the relationship with Legance. The Ambassador also pointed out that, in Italy, the private equity market had shown resilience in 2024, recording an increase in the number of deals compared to 2023, and hoped that this positive trend would continue in the coming year.
The morning followed with three panels, respectively: “Long-term equity investments: market opportunities in all sectors, challenges and lessons learned”, during which leading Private Equity professionals spoke.
The proceedings continued with the remarks streamed by the Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Economics and Finance, On. Federico Freni.
“The government’ stresses the undersecretary at the Ministry of the Economics and Finance, Federico Freni, “is committed to reforming the Consolidated Law on Finance with the aim of rationalising and simplifying the system of rules governing the financial market: clear and simple rules are needed to help companies reduce the costs of entering and remaining in the market”. “It is also necessary to eliminate anachronistic and inadequate strings and ties: a less rigid, and therefore more flexible, system of sanctions is the key to ensuring more breathing space for the market,” he adds. “The elimination of the overlap between criminal and administrative sanctions goes precisely in this direction. The work in progress is articulated and transversal to the many issues affecting the market: it is expected to be completed by the end of this year”’ Freni explains. “The market does not only depend on rules, however. In order to support and facilitate the role of companies and enhance Italian savings, the National Strategic Fund, a tool dedicated to financing SMEs, both listed and unlisted, as well as venture capital and research, will arrive by April. Growth in the market to increase the growth of the country” concludes the undersecretary to the Mef.
The second panel, which focused more on debt – Unleashing debt capital market: opportunities for private debt and alternative lenders in Italy – included a number of prominent industry players.
The day’s proceedings closed with speeches from Valentino Valentini, Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy, and Alessandro Cattaneo, Chair of the UK-Italy Friendship Group in the Italian Parliament, Co-chair Pontignano Conference followed by Barbara Cimmino, Vice President of Confindustria, Carlo Comporti, Commissioner of CONSOB and Fabrizio Testa, CEO of Borsa Italiana.
“The government’s restructuring reforms have increased Italy’s position in the indexes for attracting investors by 15 points”‘ says Valentino Valentini, Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy, “while policies for the Made in Italy sector have increased exports of high value-added products by 8.3%. In the last two years, Italy has seen foreign direct investment grow by 27%, with private equity achieving extraordinary results. 2024 marked a record with EUR 56.4 billion of investments through 496 deals, more than double the amount in 2023, making Italy the fourth largest private equity market in Europe. The Italian market showed remarkable dynamics, with a 13% increase in M&A deals compared to the previous year. We will continue to enhance the Italian market, promoting collaboration between institutions, companies and investors for sustainable growth. This conference represents an important opportunity to further consolidate the positive trend of investments in our country.”.
At the end of the morning’s proceedings Marco Gubitosi, London Resident Partner at Legance comments “In the complex global context Italy is increasingly seen as stable and attractive for medium and long term foreign investments we expect stability or an increase in equity and debt investments in Italy over the next 18 months.”