(Finance) – After an exceptional two-year period in terms of amount invested, especially with reference to the infrastructure sector, in 2023, a decline in large operations is observed. This is the main evidence that emerges from the analysis on Italian venture capital market conducted by AIFI (Italian Association of Private Equity, Venture Capital and Private Debt), in collaboration with PwC Italia.
Collection
In 2023 the collection of private equity and venture capital in Italy amounted to 3,772 million euros (of which 2,502 million raised on the market), down 36% compared to the 5,920 million of the previous year. There were 35 operators who carried out fundraising activities in 2023 (49 the previous year).
With reference to geographical origin of the funds raised on the market, the domestic component represented 83%, while the weight of the foreign component was 17%. At the source level2, 21% of the collection comes from pension funds and social security funds (522 million euros), followed by banks (13%, 332 million) and private funds of funds (11%, 270 million).
Investments
In 2023 theamount invested from private equity and venture capital operators was equal to 8,162 million euros, down 66% compared to the previous year. 2022 was characterized by the highest level ever recorded in the Italian market (23,659 million), driven by some particularly significant operations carried out in both the buy-out and infrastructure segments.
In 2022, in fact, 7 operations3 were carried out with paid-up equity between 150 and 300 million euros (large deal) and 17 operations for an amount exceeding 300 million (mega deal), for a total amount of 17,890 million euros ( 76% of the total). During 2023, however, 6 were built large deals and 4 mega deal, which together represented 36% of the total amount invested in the year (2,927 million euros). It should be underlined that operations characterized by an amount of less than 150 million euros (small and medium deals) attracted 5,235 million euros invested, representing the second highest value ever after 2022 (5,770 million in 2022, -9%, and 4,878 million in 2021, +7%).
In detail, in 2023 theearly stage (seed, start up and later stage), after a few years of significant growth, showed a contraction of 16% in the number of operations (547 in 2022, against 458 in 2023) and of 35% in the amount invested, which went from 1,179 to 762 million euros, also in this case influenced by the lower weight of larger transactions. THE buy out, with 5,469 million euros and 170 operations (10,959 million and 185 investments in 2022), ranked first in terms of amount, equal to 67% of the total. It should be underlined that the operations of expansion they ranked second in terms of amount invested, equal to 941 million, almost doubled compared to the previous year (483 million), distributed over 68 operations (+48% compared to 46 in 2022). Investments in infrastructure they attracted an amount of 937 million euros, down 91% compared to the previous year, when 10,695 million euros were invested, thanks above all to some large-value operations. There were 44 operations (52 the previous year, -15%). Finally, the segment of turnarounddedicated to companies in difficulty, has maintained a niche role, with only 6 operations and 30 million euros invested.
With reference to thegeographical origin of the operatorsthe interest of international entities in our market remains high: in 2023, in fact, 64% of the total amount was invested by foreign operators (5,248 million).
Divestments
In 2023 theamount disinvested the purchase cost of the equity investments was equal to 1,730 million euros, down 61% compared to the 4,398 million of the previous year. The number of exits was equal to 99, -15% compared to 117 in 2022. The most used channel for disinvestments in terms of number was the sale to an industrial entity, with 37 exits (37% of the total), while in terms of amount the sale to another private equity operator represented the preferred disinvestment channel (776 million euros), with an incidence of 45%.
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