After an alternating 2024, Italian private debt is already giving positive answers, with the first months of the year seeing an increase in both equity and debt financing activity and a healthy competition amongst lenders.  Driven by the cost of capital starting to recede, the increased demand from businesses seeking alternative financing due to tighter bank lending standards (particularly within mid-market companies), and the growth of more niche areas where traditional banks do not readily lend, private credit is expected to continue its growth. The panel will discuss how this could be further helped by partnerships between private credit funds and established banks to leverage their origination capabilities and reach a wider range of borrowers and how shifts in the Italian economy are influencing the private credit market and financing structures.

• What funding options currently exist for growth or acquisitions? Which advantages do alternative lenders offer? How can businesses leverage private credit funds? What opportunities exist for sponsor-less lending in the mid-cap segment?
• How are hybrid capital solutions evolving? What's the ideal balance between debt and equity? How is the role of banks changing? Is pricing affecting valuation, and if so, how? Are public to private transactions on the increase?
• How is foreign interest in Italian assets impacting financing? What are the implications for the competition, and will this bring a change into the lending practices in the country? 
• Alternative finance and industrial goals in a more dynamic market: Corporate VC, open innovation, family offices.