Private equity is setting its sights on the Italian retail industry. With 28 transactions worth €1.8 billion, 2016 was the strongest year since 2010. What has grown above all is the total value of signed deals: within 12 months they tripled compared to the 456 of 2015, and are getting close to the €1.668 billion of 2014. The number of operations is in line with the average of recent years.

These are the key numbers for the “retail and consumer product” segment which will be presented Wednesday in Milan during the meeting “Retail and private equity – opportunities and synergies for the growth of networks” organized by Confimprese, EY, Aifi and Borsa Italiana. At the roundtable, stakeholders will discuss the role of private equity, private debt and mixed funds supporting the growth of Italian chains.