Italy's economy in the green

Italy's economy in the green

In 2024, Italy recorded around 1,365 M&A transactions, up +13% in volume on 2023, for a total value close to €64 billion, +9% year-on-year.

Private equity funds accounted for 44% of transactions, accentuating their role especially in the mid-market segment.

The NextGenerationEU plan and the Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza support sectors by injecting funds for strategic operations.

At the end of 2024-beginning of 2025, despite a premature slowdown, M&A activity began a partial recovery, with a slight -14% decline in volume in Italy over the first 5 months, but a +36% increase in value due to mega-deals in the financial sector.

Forecasts of falling interest rates and controlled inflation are stimulating transactions, especially in the 2ᵉ half of 2025.

Despite continuing uncertainty in the 1ᵉʳ half-year to 2025, the climate remains buoyant thanks to PE funds willing to deploy their abundant liquidity and sector consolidations.

Tech & TMT

In 2024, TMT operations in Italy fell by -28% in volume, reflecting a similar slowdown worldwide (-27% overall, -29% in the tech segment).

However, demand for digital solutions, AI, and technology infrastructure should support a recovery in 2025.

The Italian AI sector grew by +58% in 2024, with a market worth 1.2 billion euros, driven by the development of LLMs like Minerva 7B and institutions like AI4I.

Italian tech financing remains dynamic: in Q1 2025, start-ups raised over $315 million, with a collective valuation of $82 billion

Recent examples (2024-2025)

Accenture - IQT Group

Completed on February 28, 2025, acquisition of IQT Group (Rovigo) strengthens infrastructure engineering services in Italy, for an undisclosed sum.

Leonardo - European cybersecurity company

In June 2025, Leonardo announces the acquisition of an unnamed European company, as part of a strategy to strengthen its cybersecurity division, with deals ≤ 15% of segment sales.

Konecta - CX player & digital services

In April 2025, Konecta acquired assets in Italy specializing in AI digital marketing, targeting autonomous lead generation - confirming a rise of AI in tech M&A.

TIM / Sparkle

Although mainly telecom, the sale of Sparkle (TIM's submarine cable unit) to a consortium including Retelit for 700 million euros in April 2025 can be considered a strategic tech asset (connectivity, data backbone).

Bending Spoons

Series of major global acquisitions in 2024: Mosaic Group (NY), Meetup, StreamYard (Hopin), Issuu, WeTransfer, ... Several acquisitions exceed $100m, reinforcing Italy's global tech stature.

Italy's tech sector remains stable despite the contraction in overall volumes, with resilience in value thanks to deals targeting AI, cybersecurity, digital services.

Strategic leveraging of innovation: acquisitions of deep- / healthtech and fintech startups (Conso fintech Soisy, HeidiPay) to integrate digital capabilities into more mature groups.

Rise of national tech players (such as Bending Spoons) investing internationally, consolidating the sector's global visibility.

By 2025, cybersecurity will have become a major segment, driven by acquisitions such as Leonardo, with strong growth expected in sales (>+13%) and orders (>+16%) through to 2028.

Startups

The startup ecosystem will be strengthened by 2025, with a focus on greentech, healthcare and agritech, consolidated by international partnerships and policies to support innovation.

Acquisitions of start-ups are increasingly driven by PE funds seeking to insert emerging technologies into mature industrial groups.

Average size of startups acquired in tech (Q1 2025 globally): ~100 employees, with transactions ≥ $100m like Voyage AI sold for $220m to MongoDB (~$11.6m per employee)

In Italy, PEs remain active in the purchase of niche tech SMEs, offering digital capabilities or B2B platforms, often in sub €500 million deals.

Industry & Manufacturing

The industrial/manufacturing sector will account for around 24% of transactions in 2024, dominated by industrial consolidation or rationalization.

PE investment focuses on Italian SMEs with strong potential, often linked to the energy, chemicals or utilities sectors.

Services (including telecom & B2B services)

Swisscom's takeover of Vodafone Italia, finalized at the end of 2024 (~8 billion euros), led to the creation of Fastweb + Vodafone - a dominant player in Italian telecoms.

In 2025, Sixth Street acquires 38% of Sorgenia for ~4 billion euros, strengthening the energy/renewable services ecosystem.

Several key Mega-deals 2024-2025

Telecom Italia - Fibercop: takeover via KKR for ~€22 billion, Europe's biggest PE deal in 2024; EU launches antitrust investigation in 2025 into statements made during the deal.

Iveco: split into two major deals - sale of the defense unit to Leonardo (1.7 billion euros) and of the commercial vehicle business to Tata Motors (~3.8 billion euros).

Sorgenia: acquisition of a ~38% stake in SixthStreet, valuing the company at ~4 billion euros, consolidation of renewable energy assets.

Some strategic challenges & recommendations

Strict regulation: GoldenPower guarantees control of strategic assets (defense, energy, telecoms) through state intervention in certain transactions.

Preparing for post-merger integration: effective M&A integration is crucial to generating lasting synergies, particularly in cross-border operations.

Proactive approach to B2B & SMEs: thanks to tools like UniCredit DealSync that automatically identify buyout targets in SMEs to accelerate digital deals at the VSE/SMI level.

2025 remains marked by a climate of macro-economic uncertainty: volatile interest rates, geopolitical tensions.

However, abundant liquidity, gradually falling interest rates and sector consolidation should generate a qualitative recovery, especially in the tech, industrial and strategic services segments.

Sources:ilgiornaleditalia, chambers practice guides, hsfkramer, PwC, imi.intesasanpaolo, statsandmarketinsights, AP News, Financial Times, fnlondon,wikipedia

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