(Finance) – A record year for the Italian M&A market, with 1,369 deals concluded (+8% compared to 2023) for a total value of approximately 73 billion euros (+91% compared to last year).
Despite the persistence of uncertainty at a geopolitical level, 2024 was positively influenced by the international macroeconomic trend which, albeit unevenly, saw economic growth accompanied by a decline in inflation, allowing the Central Banks to implement a change of monetary policy and support investors in finalizing large deals.
This year, in fact, 15 transactions were concluded with a value exceeding one billion euros.
The main one was the acquisition by Optics BidCo, a company controlled by the American Fund KKR, of Tim’s fixed network infrastructure, NetCo, for a total value of 14.2 billion euros.
Max Fiani, KPMG Partner and curator of the M&A reportcomments: “2024 ends with a record number of transactions, for the first time we exceed 1,360 deals. The regulated sectors are driving, when it comes to larger transactions: Telco, Banks and Energy. The mid-market is very active in the typical Made in Italy sectors, in the consumer and industrial market sectors; supply chain M&A is consolidated, through the formation of platforms and thanks to the widespread and detailed work of private capital operators. We are still far from records in terms of turnover, but the market is well set upthanks also to the cuts in the cost of money already underway by the Central Banks”.
In terms of countervaluemainly drive cross border operations, which represent 86% of the Italian M&A market, with 62.8 billion euros, confirming on the one hand the interest of foreign investors in ‘Made in Italy’ (417 operations for 34, 8 billion euros) and on the other the entrepreneurial courage of Italian companies to establish themselves on foreign markets in order to create international players (246 operations for 28 billion euros).
In terms of number of operationsthe domestic market reached a new record exceeding 700 deals for a value of 9.8 billion euros (in 2023 there were 693 for 9 billion euros). The domestic market is characterized by smaller deals with the aim of creating and consolidating Made in Italy production chains that allow it to maintain its leadership position on the reference markets.
From an analysis of the main target sectors, 2024 saw Technology, Media & Telecom (TMT), Energy & Utilities and Financial Services as protagonists, representing 65% of the value of the Italian M&A market.
Outlook 2025
The decline in inflation in recent quarters, the more favorable supply conditions of financial sources and the implementation of public investments linked to the Next Generation Eu funds, combined with the numerous operations in the pipeline, including large ones, bode well for the trend of the M&A market next year.
“2025 promises to be very positive thanks to an important pipeline of operations, the expectations of further reductions in the cost of money and the hoped-for resolution of the ongoing conflicts on the Russian-Ukrainian front and in the Middle East. The main uncertainties remain linked to some industrial and manufacturing sectors where the decline in production has persisted for several months. This, moreover, could lead to further sector consolidations, the search for synergies and greater investments in technology”, concludes Max Fiani.
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