Private Equity Forum Italy 2023
Our Italian private equity forum returns to Milan this July!
Palazzo Parigi, Milan
Agenda
Registration
Presentation: Next generation Mergermarket
Opening keynote – A macro-economic overview of trends shaping the Italian market
The looming presence of China, the conflict in Ukraine and the energy crisis, together with the high rate of inflation and the rise of interest rates are conditions that reverberated in the private capital markets, and the alternative investment fund industry, especially venture capital and private equity, is not exempt.
This keynote speech will examine the current macro-economic trends and their impact on the private equity market in Italy.
Panel – Navigating uncertainty: Top value creation strategies, risks, and opportunities for Private Equity firms in Italy in 2023
As the new macro landscape with its unprecedented levels of uncertainty settles in, private market investors in Italy are increasingly looking to understand and manage external risks and prioritise what they can control. The difficulties encountered in the first half of 2022 notwithstanding, a certain degree of stabilisation and optimism seems to have been reached now, reflected upstream in a still robust capital raising and, downstream, in a deployment activity that has not slowed down in any way. Our panel of experts will discuss what all this means for private equity deal making.
- How is the external landscape affecting investment decisions in order to find the best new and existing opportunities for portfolios of funds
- Growing interest rates and impact on valuations: How are funds evolving to remain competitive?
- Best fundraising strategies in 2023 in Italy
- Overview of the best exit strategies in 2023
- Debt funds: Growing stronger
Morning networking break
In-Conversation – Impact investment deep dive
With ESG becoming a key driver for investment, private market investors are increasingly being scrutinised for their climate change, social, and governance considerations in investment decision making. Investors are looking for managers to invest in line with their ESG policies and procedures, while also returning capital that outperforms certain benchmarks. Nonetheless, the lack of standardised methodologies for rating ESG effectiveness is still perceived by Private Equity firms as a major obstacle in the launching of ESG funds. Our expert speaker will share best practices on how to leverage ESG to drive value creation.
- Cost vs opportunity: Managing and reaching targets for environment, climate, social, governance compliance
- The legal and social controversy angle in Italy: Ratings, standardisation (and lack there of), labour laws, etc
- The role of the board: Competencies, efficiency and the essential need for independent judgement
- ESG as a dominant factor in due diligence: Dealing with a more discerning approach to asset selection, more control over deals, and even stronger focus on operational excellence
- De listing of companies: How to handle all technical and business angles in timely manner
Panel – Sector focus: How to identify the best sectors and investment opportunities in the current marketplace
A whiff of optimism can be felt in the Italian marketplace, due in part to the experiences of 2022, that indicates that Italian companies are likely to become even more open to private equity investors who provide new financial resources and know-how. The Italian market is still characterised by small and medium-sized businesses which are attractive to many private equity funds. Sectors that are likely to attract heightened interest in 2023 include technology, luxury brands, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, healthcare and biotech, agribusiness and food. Our panel of leading investors will give their views on the best strategies for navigating the challenges and opportunities across sectors.
- Is investing in this uncertain market (still) an opportunity for Private Equity?
- Alternative investment funds
- What LPs are looking for in 2023 and beyond
- IT, AI, Cyber other sectors that show scarcity of assets: Growing appetite
- Consumer sector focus: Seizing growth equity opportunity
Networking break
Fireside chat – Value creation: Driving growth through innovation and commercial excellence
When it comes to value creation, while the results have been very strong, it seems that investors are only achieving a fraction of the benefits. Recently, we have seen increased competition for assets and much better availability of unique data sources coupled with advanced analytic tools, putting a significant emphasis in PE deals from ‘risk avoidance’ to ‘creating value’. Value creation thinking is now taking place earlier in the deal process with more sophisticated tooling and diligence to assist, while value creation specialists are increasingly influential and playing a more integral role in deal processes.
- Understanding growth strategies that yield real value by looking outside ‘traditional” value creations levers only (incl. data, cyber, digitalisation)
- Improving board performance by working closely with management and advisors providing the specialised knowledge
- Observing the performance of mid-size companies between PE e VC; Start-Ups, Growth Capital, Scale-Ups
- The impact of recent legislative changes vis-a-vis private investments
Panel – The next generation of Private Equity investing in Italy
Millennials have grown up in a world of intense global awareness; they are incredibly familiar and at ease with innovative ways of communication and have a heightened sensitivity to climate change, societal injustice, and ethical duty. It is no longer enough for firms to signal support for ESG; they expect sincere commitment from the top and sustained action. Our dedicated panel of young professionals will show us how they see the world of private equity, what we can learn and what we have to adapt to.
How do under younger professionals see the world of PE? A different life model, new perception of the market, of investments and ultimately, of the deal
- Strengths and potential of generational change: Banking on a faster, more varied communication architecture
- New investment measures and tools, including social media means, crowdfunding, etc
Management buy-in to a cultural refresher: Best practices for leaders adapt to generational differences and driving better recruiting and retention
Examples of and from innovative Start-Ups and Scale-Ups
Chair's closing remarks
Lunch and end of conference
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Giovanni has more than 25 years M&A experience primarily performed for large international corporates and private equity houses. He is graduated in Business Administration from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan and he isfluent in Italian (mother tongue), English and French.
His main areas of expertise include financial and vendor due diligence, pre-dealanalyses and post-deal integration, carve-outs, value creation analyses. His mainindustry focus is on Healthcare & Pharma, Business Services, Industrial Products and Retail and Consumer
Gregorio De Felice is Head of Research and Chief Economist, Intesa Sanpaolo.
President of the Supervisory Board of the R&I (Ricerca & Imprenditorialità) Foundation for the years 2022-2025
Graduate in Economic and Social Sciences at Luigi Bocconi University, Milan. After spending a short period as a teaching assistant, he joined the Banca Commerciale Italiana (BCI) Research Department in 1983 and became Head of Research in 1995.
From 1994 to 1999, lecturer in Monetary Economics at Bocconi University.
From 2007 to 2010, Chairman of AIAF, the Italian Association of Financial Analysts. From 2015 to 2018, Chairman of the International Conference of Commercial Bank Economists (ICCBE).
He is a member of the Chief Economists’ Group of the European Banking Federation (EBF) and of the Board of Directors of Prometeia, Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI), Associazione per lo Sviluppo degli Studi di Banca e Borsa (ASSBB), Associazione Nazionale per l’Enciclopedia della Banca e della Borsa (Assonebb), Studi e Ricerche per il Mezzogiorno (SRM), Gruppo Economisti di Impresa (GEI), Fondazione Bruno Visentini, Fondazione Manlio Masi, Robert Triffin International Foundation, Rete Urbana delle Rappresentanze (RUR), Fondazione Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano and of the main Pension Fund of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group.
He is also a member of the Scientific Committee of a number of economic associations and foundations.
He is the author of many publications in the fields of monetary policy and financial markets, banking and the management of public debt.
Andrea Giardino has been involved in many of the Firm’s most significant extraordinary corporate finance transactions. He specializes in M&A, particularly with regard to acquisitions and disposals of shareholdings and businesses, leveraged buy-outs, private equity transactions, joint ventures, takeover bids and exchange offers. He also advises on real estate transactions.
He is the author of numerous publications on corporate law, with particular focus on group regulation and company direction and coordination. Andrea Giardino graduated with honours from the Università degli Studi di Pisa in 1994 and was admitted to the Italian Bar in 1997.
Prior to joining the Firm, he worked at some of the leading Italian law firms.
Matteo Zenari is Head of Financial Sponsor Group within the Intesa Sanpaolo IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division. In his leading role he is in charge globally of the coverage activity of the Investment Banking products and services, such as Structure Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions, Debt & Equity Capital Market and Fund Financing, with Italian and International Private Equity firms. He joined Intesa Sanpaolo Group in the Financial Sponsor Group in 2017, after having headed the Mergers & Acquisitions and Co-Headed the Corporate Finance desks at Société Générale CIB in Italy. Matteo graduated at Luigi Bocconi University with an economic and finance degree.
Francesco Aldorisio, Partner – Private Equity, is responsible for direct investments in Europe. He is also responsible for due diligence and execution of fund investments in Italy and sourcing of secondary fund investments in Europe. Francesco is a member of the advisory board of several private equity funds and sits on the board of various companies across Europe. He joined Unigestion in 2017 with the integration of Akina into Unigestion’s private equity unit.
Francesco holds a Master’s Degree cum laude in Economics, Statistics and Social Sciences with a major in industrial economy and corporate finance from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy.
Francesco Casiraghi joined Advent in 2007. In addition to managing Advent's coverage of the Italian market, he is a member of the Industrial team. Prior to Advent, Francesco was at Merrill Lynch, where he worked for five years on the investment banking team in their London, Hong Kong, Rome and Milan offices. While at Merrill Lynch, Francesco worked on a number of high profile transactions across several industries and products. Prior to Merrill Lynch, he worked at Procter & Gamble as a process engineer.
Francesco holds an MA in Industrial Engineering from Parma University.
Francesco has worked on Advent's investments in Circet, Laird Limited and Nexi. Directorships - Current: Laird Limited and Nexi
Valentina Franceschini is a Senior Partner at Wise Equity in Milan. She joined the management company in 2000 and during the past 20 years has managed several investments in Italian SMEs in different industries.
Valentina currently serves on the board of Aleph (digital printing), Corob (tinting systems), Imprima (textile printing and finishing), Tapì (T-cap closures for food and beverage), Vittoria (bicycle tires), Waycap (fashion accessories).
Prior to joining Wise Equity, Valentina was an Equity Research Analyst at Credit Suisse focusing on the Media sector.
Valentina obtained a degree in Business Administration at Luigi Bocconi University.
Alessandro has 20+ years of experience in Debt Capital Markets working for primary financial institutions and financial advisors in London and Milan.
Before joining PwC in 2016 as Head of the Debt Advisory division, Alessandro worked in Ethica Corporate Finance as Head of Debt Advisory, as Director in Rothschild Debt Advisory and as responsible for the Loan Syndication Italy desk in Royal Bank of Scotland (origination, structuring and negotiation of syndicated financing/club deal).
During his career, Alessandro has worked for several large and mid-market clients in domestic and cross-border transactions developing a deep knowledge of acquisition financing, refinancing, restructuring and structured finance.
Giovanni manages the global Data team of ION Analytics where he sits on the Executive Committee. ION Analytics, which was formed in 2021 from the combination of Dealogic and Acuris, is part of ION Group. Among the databases of which Giovanni is responsible for there are Dealogic, Mergermarket, Debtwire, Perfect Information and Inframation Group to name a few
In his role, Giovanni’s team is responsible for producing high-quality data that will be used by market participants to make effective decisions. Prior to this role, Giovanni managed the Global Research team of Acuris where his team was tasked to produce valuable insights using data.
Previously, Giovanni managed Mergermarket’s global team of journalists, and his responsibilities included moderating and speaking at M&A events and hiring new talent. He also regularly comments about the markets on TV and gives academic lectures. Giovanni joined Acuris in 2001 and has held a number of positions within the company, including Frankfurt Bureau Chief, Italian Correspondent, telecommunications, leisure and media reporter and research analyst based in London. Prior to this, he worked with Commerzbank in Germany. Giovanni studied a degree in Economics at the University of Brescia and is a member of Giornalista Pubblicista enrolled at the Journalist Corporation in Milan.
Andrea is the Group EVP for Agrati Group ( www.agrati.com) , he joined Agrati a leading fastening systems producer in the automotive sector in 2016, prior to that he worked in Singapore and USA for D’Amico Group and Coca Cola and KPMG for over 12 years, covering CFO, internal audit and audit roles.
In 2021 he founded Smart Capital, a permanent holding company that invests in Italian small and medium companies and is independent board member for Ala, a group operating in the logistics for aerospace sector.
Andrea graduated in Business Administration and Law @ Universita' Commerciale Bocconi of Milan and he Harvard Business School - HBS alumnus since 2011 after completing the executive MBA.
Giovanni manages the global Data team of ION Analytics where he sits on the Executive Committee. ION Analytics, which was formed in 2021 from the combination of Dealogic and Acuris, is part of ION Group. Among the databases of which Giovanni is responsible for there are Dealogic, Mergermarket, Debtwire, Perfect Information and Inframation Group to name a few
In his role, Giovanni’s team is responsible for producing high-quality data that will be used by market participants to make effective decisions. Prior to this role, Giovanni managed the Global Research team of Acuris where his team was tasked to produce valuable insights using data.
Previously, Giovanni managed Mergermarket’s global team of journalists, and his responsibilities included moderating and speaking at M&A events and hiring new talent. He also regularly comments about the markets on TV and gives academic lectures. Giovanni joined Acuris in 2001 and has held a number of positions within the company, including Frankfurt Bureau Chief, Italian Correspondent, telecommunications, leisure and media reporter and research analyst based in London. Prior to this, he worked with Commerzbank in Germany. Giovanni studied a degree in Economics at the University of Brescia and is a member of Giornalista Pubblicista enrolled at the Journalist Corporation in Milan.
Raffaele Legnani is a Managing Director of H.I.G. Capital and he heads up H.I.G.'s activities in Italy. Raffaele has been investing in the Italian private equity market since 1996. Prior to joining H.I.G., Raffaele was founding partner of Atlantis Partners in Milan, the leading independent institutional investment firm focused on Italian mid-size companies in Special Situations. Before that, Raffaele has successfully invested in a significant number of buyout transactions, both directly and through specialized private equity funds (the London based Stellican and the US based Wexford Management) serving as operating board member for several portfolio companies. Previously, Raffaele worked in investment banking for Goldman Sachs in London. Raffaele graduated with honours in Finance and Business Administration from Bocconi University in Milan.
Gianni Martoglia si occupa principalmente di mercati finanziari e di operazioni di fusione ed acquisizione, ed è specializzato nelle operazioni di private equity. In questi anni ha seguito alcune tra le più importanti e complesse operazioni di M&A dello Studio, seguendo svariati clienti industriali e finanziari italiani ed internazionali.
Si è laureato con lode all’Università degli Studi di Torino nel 1992 e dal 1996 è iscritto all’Albo degli Avvocati; Gianni Martoglia è inoltre autore di diversi articoli in materia di diritto societario e di mercati mobiliari pubblicati su alcune delle principali riviste italiane ed è co-autore del libro “Tecniche di Private Equity”.
Mr. Matteo Cirla serves as Managing Partner and CEO at IGI Private Equity since 2010. Before, he has been founding Partner at Synergo SGR from 2004.
Before starting his career in private equity he spent 10 year in the Investment Banking with ABN AMRO and Abaxbank.
Mr. Cirla has been Chairman or Director in several portfolio companies. Today serves as Chairman or Director at CIPA, IGI Sgr, Blumen, Rollon, Fimotec and Bracchi.
He holds a MS with honors in Economics from Pavia University and a MBA from SDA Bocconi.
Luca Liscon is Head of Financial Sponsor Italy – Managing Director at Intesa Sanpaolo, IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division
Luca joined Intesa Sanpaolo IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division in 2019 and became Head of Financial Sponsor Italy in 2022, based in Milan. In his role he leads the coverage activity on the Italian market with Financial Sponsor clients, which includes Leveraged Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions, ECM and DCM products.
Prior to joining Intesa Sanpaolo, Luca spent 5 years at Generali in Milan in the Private Equity Fund of Funds team and 3 years in KPMG Advisory in the Debt Advisory and Restructuring team. Luca started his career in 2010 in Rothschild gaining, since then, more than 13 years of private equity and investment banking experience.
Luca holds a Master of Science in Finance at Bocconi University (Milan, Italy) and a Bachelor in Business Economics at Bari University.