We are pleased to present Unveiling value: Italian M&A and PE activity in 2023, published in association with Mergermarket. This report provides invaluable insights into M&A and private equity (PE) activity in Italy in 2023 and looks ahead at the outlook for the year ahead.

Highlights include:

• Market on the mend. Overall, 1,181 deals were announced in Italy in 2023, worth a combined €63.3bn and representing year-on-year declines of 10% and 42%, respectively. While these figures are still soft, they do at least signal an improvement from H1 2023, when aggregate value was down 80% on the same period in 2022.
• In the lap of luxury. Despite recording a year-on-year decline of 11% in deal volume terms, aggregate deal value in Italy’s consumer sector rose by 43%, to €5.2bn, in 2023, thanks in large part to a pair of luxury-related plays for Valentino and Gruppo Florence.
• Telecoms generate giant deal. The biggest M&A deal announced in Italy in 2023 was US alternative investment behemoth KKR’s acquisition of FiberCop, comprising the fixed network assets of Telecom Italia, for €21.7bn.
• Mighty cross-border appetite. Each of the 10 largest transactions announced in 2023 targeting Italian assets involved inbound M&A bidders, including two led by US dealmakers, two involving bidders from the UK and two involving France-based acquirers.