Three years ago, Milan was a respected but secondary hub in the European private equity landscape. Today, it is becoming a primary hub. A wave of capital managed by international funds, from KKR to CVC, from Ardian to Tikehau, is establishing a dedicated local presence, drawn by Italy’s emergence as the fastest-growing private equity market in Europe, by a historically under-managed household wealth pool of 5,300 billion euros, and by a regulatory environment that has improved quietly but significantly for alternative investment managers.
Against this backdrop, Zero One Hundred Conferences, in partnership with the Department of Economic Development of the City of Milan and Milano&Partners, returns to Milan for the third edition of 0100 International, Europe’s leading annual event for private sector professionals, scheduled to take place from 27 to 29 October 2026 at Palazzo Castiglioni (with Startupbisiness as media partner).
In 2022, the value of private equity transactions in Italy stood at around 27 billion euros. By 2024, this figure had more than doubled, reaching a record €56.4 billion across 496 transactions, making Italy the fourth-largest private equity market in Europe and the fastest-growing, according to PitchBook data. Private equity now accounts for over 44 per cent of the total value of mergers and acquisitions in Italy.
Venture capital has been a key driver of this acceleration: VC investment in Italy reached €1.6 billion in 2024, with a growing number of Series B and C funding rounds attracting pan-European and transatlantic investors. The Italian VC market raised €1.1 billion across 628 deals in 2024, a 467% increase compared with ten years ago, with Milan accounting for 76% of all Italian fintech investments since 2020.
In the first half of 2025, almost 30% of all private equity financing in Italy utilised private credit structures, marking a structural shift away from bank-led financing of transactions. Italy is now the largest private credit market in Southern Europe.
| Key transactions: Transaction | Company | Value |
| Telecom Italia’s fixed-line network | KKR | 19 billion euros |
| Take-private bid for Recordati | CVC Capital Partners | 10.7 billion euros |
| Eni’s stake in Enilive | KKR | 3.6 billion euros |
| Sale of 8 Via Montenapoleone | Blackstone | 1.3 billion euros |
| Dedalus exits Private Credit | Tikehau Capital / Ardian | 180 million euros |
The most visible sign of Milan’s new status as a private market hub is the physical commitment made by global asset managers: KKR opened its first dedicated office in Milan in May 2026, focusing on private equity, real assets, credit, insurance and private wealth. The firm has invested over €10 billion in Italy since 2005; CVC Capital Partners launched a €10.7 billion take-private bid for Recordati in May 2026 — the largest public-to-private transaction led by a private equity fund in Italian history; Tikehau Capital appointed a co-head for Italy in November 2025, closed its first property finance transaction in Italy and, together with Ardian, completed the exit from Dedalus’s private credit portfolio for €180 million — building up a track record of financing in Italy totalling approximately €1.8 billion; Partech it opened an office in Milan and appointed a manager dedicated to Italian deal flow, making its first investment in an Italian start-up at the end of 2023; Eurazeo expanded its presence in Milan in May 2025, strengthening its office at Corso Matteotti 3 as a strategic hub for the venture & growth, buyout, private debt and real estate sectors — with a target of €500 million in investments in Italy; Seroba Life Sciences added Milan as its third office (after Dublin and Paris), closing Fund IV at €123 million with CDP Venture Capital as the anchor LP; 2024 saw the Sequoia’s first investment in Italy (the largest pre-seed round in Italian history), alongside the first investments in Italy by Localglobe, ETF Partners and Durable Capital.
The legal infrastructure is also keeping pace: Ropes & Gray (September 2025), Fieldfisher, Bird & Bird and Greenberg Traurig have all opened or significantly expanded their offices in Milan. There are now 16 US law firms from the top 100 operating in the city.
| Untapped wealth | €5,300 billion in financial wealth held by Italian households, of which around 60% is unmanaged or not channelled into institutional products — one of the last major under-penetrated markets in Western Europe. |
| Regulatory improvement | Updates to the AIFMD framework, an investment management exemption for foreign managers, a 26% tax rate on carried interest (subject to certain conditions) and a flat tax of €300,000 for new residents — all of which enhance Milan’s appeal to senior professionals relocating from London or Zurich. |
| Pipeline of SMEs and family-run businesses | The Italian mid-market, characterised by founder-led and family-run businesses, generates a consistently strong pipeline of deals for buyouts and growth equity, with limited competition in auctions for deals with an EBITDA of less than 50 million euros. |
| The structural rise of private credit | Bank financing remains limited for mid-market borrowers. Italy is now the largest private credit market in Southern Europe; in the first half of 2025, almost one in three private equity transactions in Italy utilised private credit structures. |
0100 International brings together GPs, LPs, private credit managers, secondary market specialists, infrastructure investors and advisers who are building the private markets ecosystem in Italy and across Europe. The 2026 edition will take place from 27 to 29 October at Palazzo Castiglioni and will address the key issues of the moment: the structural rise of private credit and the end of bank-led financing; the surge of liquidity in the secondary market and GP-led transactions; capital for the energy transition and infrastructure investments; the democratisation of private markets for private and wealth clients; and Italy’s emergence as the fastest-growing destination in Europe for private equity and venture capital. (pictured: a moment from the 2025 event)
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ©
