A record year for the Italian M&A market, with 1,369 deals completed (+8% compared to 2023) for a total value of approximately 73 billion euros (+91% compared to last year). Despite the persistence of uncertainty at the geopolitical level, 2024 was positively influenced by the international macroeconomic trend which, albeit uneven, saw economic growth with a reduction in inflation, prompting central banks to Allowed to implement changes in monetary policy and help finalize investors. great deals. This year, in fact, there were 15 transactions with a value of over one billion euros. This comes from a KPMG report dedicated to the M&A market in Italy. The most significant was the acquisition by Optics BidCo, a company controlled by the American fund KKR, of Tim’s fixed network infrastructure NetCo, for a total value of 14.2 billion euros.
Response value and number of operations
In terms of value, they are mainly driven by cross-border operations, which represent 86% of the Italian M&A market, with 62.8 billion euros, on the one hand confirming the interest of foreign investors in ‘Made in Italy’. do (417 operations for 34.8 billion euros) and on the other hand the entrepreneurial courage of Italian companies to establish themselves in foreign markets in order to create international players (246 for 28 billion euros operations). In terms of the number of operations, the domestic market reached a new record by exceeding 700 deals worth 9.8 billion euros (in 2023 there were 693 for 9 billion euros). The domestic market is characterized by small deals aimed at creating and strengthening production chains made in Italy that allow it to maintain its leadership position in the reference markets.
Sectors, ranked by value
From an analysis of the main target sectors, 2024 saw technology, media and telecom (TMT), energy and utilities and financial services as protagonists, representing 65% of the value of the Italian M&A market. In particular, TMT benefited from the aforementioned acquisition of TIM Fixed Network by KKR, with 227 transactions worth 17 billion. This year has also seen a boom in IT and software operations in this sector. The energy and utilities sector recorded 114 transactions worth 16.8 billion euros (+163% compared to 2023). The financial services sector was particularly active with large transactions. Despite the lower number of deals (75 vs. 84 in 2023), the value recorded equals 13.1 billion euros (+136% compared to 2023).
Sectors, classification by number of operations
The consumer market continues to be the sector characterized by the highest number of transactions, with 430 recorded against 396 in 2023, with a value of 8.6 billion euros, down from the previous year (15.1 billion euros). In second place in terms of the number of operations we find the industrial markets with 342 deals (305 in 2023) worth 10.8 billion euros (+46% compared to last year). Finally, the study pointed out that the less stringent monetary policies implemented by central banks have supported private equity funds that confirm themselves as important investors in the Italian M&A market. Around 170 direct operations have been carried out by private equity funds for a total value of more than 21.6 billion euros.
