Private Equity between Italy and the USA
At the time of the global emergency, covid became a survival factor for Italian companies to successfully enter foreign markets. This guarantees Italian companies a structured and secure long-term growth.
The United States is a large market full of opportunities especially for the consumer market. characterized by a deep sense of corporate culture.
With a GDP of 20 trillion dollars and a population of over 325 million people, the USA remains a popular destination for Italian companies. Let’s not forget, moreover, that the recent data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis show a record increase (+ 350%) of Italian investments in the USA in the last 15 years, with an increase in 2018 alone of 6.7% ($ 31, 3 billion), also favored by the ‘Make it in America’ policy launched by the current administration.
Relations between Italy and the USA are lost over time and are profound and important, strategic for Italian development policy.
According to data from the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy. There are more than 2,400 Italian companies in the US, generating more than 250,000 jobs and a total turnover of around 129 billion euros.
Why focus on America in a time of great difficulty.
This is an unprecedented project for the Italian panorama, which takes care of accompanying our companies in the main market in the world. The American one. But it is by its nature a more flexible and resilient market, it adapts faster, and is close to the American dream. They estimate that despite the current difficulties, the United States will recover sooner and better than we do. The real challenge will be in the autumn, when the social protections required by the government will cease and the number of unemployed will grow. The United States immediately addressed this problem. This too is certainly one of the reasons why you should go back to betting on the States. This transatlantic project will make the distance between the two countries significantly less than the 6,462 km that separate Milan from New York.
Ultimately a tool available to entrepreneurs to support and accelerate the growth of their businesses, especially in this time of difficulty. We are in the fundraising phase for the launch of the first private equity fund dedicated to the Italy-US development axis to support the development and growth of medium-sized Italian companies through the American market. The financial institutions that are joining the initiative have well understood that the project is the least opportunistic and the most concrete and entrepreneurial possible. On the other hand, the high level of know-how and the appeal of Made in Italy, elements that characterize most of the companies and the industrial fabric of the country, have always been competitive factors for consolidation strategies on foreign markets, especially the American one.
Private equity, an opportunity for rebirth
Private equity operators are aware of the important role that private capital can play in the recovery of the country. “The moment is critical, but if companies can take advantage of the slowdown to review their business models or even accelerate growth, they could emerge from the covid-19 emergency even stronger.” Today there are about 1,500 companies in Italy that are part of the private capital portfolios. According to Carlyle, as has happened in all previous crises, the best companies that come out of these periods will be more efficient and have optimized processes. Just a note of merit: “small businesses, which very often come out of the radar of private equity funds for reasons of scale, but which are fundamental for the maintenance of the economic and social system, should not be left alone. However, to date the diffusion of these financial (and entrepreneurial, by now) instruments in Italy is still limited, but targeted initiatives can support companies in the most affected sectors, giving them oxygen pending the desired recovery “, concludes Simone Crolla.
