FONDO ITALIANO D’INVESTIMENTO APPROVES 2022-2025 BUSINESS PLAN:
4 BILLION EUROS FOR THE GROWTH OF ITALIAN SMES
CEO Bertone: “We are ready to give new impetus to the investment strategies dedicated to the growth projects of Italian SMEs; we will do so by favoring partnerships while also introducing innovations that will contribute to the growth and evolution of the private capital ecosystem and chains of excellence of our Country”
• 4 billion euros AUM by 2025
• 7 new funds, including direct funds and funds of funds
• Focus on strategic supply chains, such as: Made in Italy, IT/Digital, Lifescience & HealthCare, Industrial Tech & Products
• New direct fund dedicated to the Agri&Food sector
• New direct fund aimed at co-investments
• First Impact Investing fund of funds in Italy
• Strategy dedicated to secondary deals for new funds of funds
Milan, October 20th, 2022 - In recent weeks, the Board of Directors of Fondo Italiano d'Investimento SGR S.p.A., chaired by Barbara Poggiali, approved the new Business Plan for the three-year period 2022-2025.
The Plan aims at increasing the capital dedicated to projects for the growth and build-up of Italian small and medium-sized enterprises to 4 billion euros, thus supporting the competitiveness of the national industrial system, as well as boosting the Country's real economy.
Over the next three years, Fondo Italiano will launch 7 new products, of which 4 direct funds and 3 funds of funds, focusing its activities among 5 sectors as well as investment themes: Agri & Food, Made in Italy supply chains and excellence, Lifescience & HealthCare, Industrial Tech & Products, and IT/Digital.
"This Business Plan marks a remarkable change of pace for Fondo Italiano d'Investimento, which will commit more capital to Italian SMEs projects while also intensifying partnership paths with new investors and other Italian private capital players," says CEO Davide Bertone. "The Plan is in continuity with its predecessors, pursuing with greater determination the strategies that have proven successful; however, it displays several significant innovations. In the current economic phase, being the largest private capital platform for growth, also allows us to play the role of catalyst and multiplier of investments to support the excellence of the Country's real economy and contribute to the growth and evolution of the Italian private capital ecosystem".
The 2022-2025 Plan intends to give continuity to the funds and investment strategies that have been successful over the last few years, such as FITEC (Fondo Italiano Tecnologia e Crescita, the growth capital fund), FICC (Fondo Italiano Consolidamento e Crescita, dedicated to buy-out and build-up operations) and the funds of funds Private Equity Italia (FOF PEI) and Private Debt Italia (FOF PDI), whose next-generation funds are expected to be launched within the Plan's horizon.
Fondo Italiano will maintain the operational flexibility that has characterized its modus operandi as of today, entering the capital of its portfolio companies with both majority and minority stakes, both through capital increase and replacement.
The Plan presents three significant innovations compared to the past, albeit in line with the core principles of its history, mission, and experience. The first one is related to the creation of a direct fund exclusively dedicated to co-investments alongside asset management companies (SGRs) or the Fund's investors. Partnerships and collaborations have always been a driver of growth and investment and will be at the core of Fondo Italiano's activity in the coming years, aligning the modus operandi of some of its instruments with market standards.
Secondly, the 2022-2025 strategy envisages the creation of a fund of funds meant to promote the secondary private equity market. The initiative, which does not exist in Italy as at today, is aimed at supporting the prospective liquidity of private capital investments through the creation of instruments that increase the possibilities of buying and selling shares in Italian private capital funds.
Lastly, in line with its historically proactive approach towards ESG and sustainability issues, Fondo Italiano will launch the first impact investing fund of funds, whose closing is expected in November thanks to the support of its cornerstone investor Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), which will promote investments in funds that pursue measurable and intentional social objectives, as well as generating an economic return for investors. It will be the first Italian fund under Article 9 of the SFDR and will be aimed at the emergence of this new asset class, which is currently underdeveloped in Italy, compared to the rest of Europe, where it is already mature and sophisticated.
It is also worth mentioning that, thanks to the collaboration with the listed company BF S.p.A., a new fund will be launched. The Fund, whose closing is expected in November 2022, is fully dedicated to agriculture and food in general: from seeds to the supply chains of the Country's products of excellence.
Fondo Italiano will also start a new fundraising plan that aims to raise more than 2.5 billion euros over the next three years for both direct and indirect strategies.
The Fund will continue to benefit from the support of its anchor investors (mainly CDP), but, at the same time, intends to further increase the support from other Italian and foreign institutional investors.
Fondo Italiano d’Investimento SGR
Fondo Italiano d’Investimento SGR was created in 2010 on the initiative of the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and its shareholders include CDP Equity, Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit, Fondazione ENPAM, Fondazione ENPAIA, ABI, Banco BPM and BPER Banca. The main goal of Fondo Italiano is to favor the growth of the Italian economy by managing closed-ended funds. The funds managed by FII SGR are aimed at conveying patient capital to Italian companies of excellence with a return on investment in line with international benchmarks. To date, FII SGR manages a total of 12 closed-ended alternative investment funds reserved to qualified investors, for about 2.7 billion euros and operates through direct and indirect investments (funds of funds). FII SGR acts as a responsible investor and has sustainability as a core value; is thus committed to integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria into its investment criteria, processes, and activities.
For further information:
Fondo Italiano d’Investimento SGR
Roberto Travaglino
Fondo Italiano d’Investimento SGR
+39 02 63532 208
roberto.travaglino@fondoitaliano.it
Thanai Bernardini
External Press Office
+39 335 7245418
me@thanai.it
Alessandro Bozzi Valenti
External Press Office
+39 348 0090866
alessandro.valenti@thanai.it