The Italian Investment Conference 2018, organized on 16 and 17 May in Milan by UniCredit with the collaboration of Kepler Cheuvreux, confirms the interest of international investors for Italian assets. In fact, 52 listed Italian companies and 160 investors, 75% from abroad, are participating in the event.
Based on the data provided by Dealogic, in the first four months of 2018, the issuance of equity instruments in our country reached 2,8 billion euros, an improvement on the figure compared to the 2 billion recorded between January and April 2017 ( if we exclude the capital increase initiated by the bank in Piazza Gae Aulenti).
The growth becomes even more significant if one takes into account that, at European level, in the same reference period, the issue of shares was down by 46 billion compared to 68 billion last year. “In this scenario – reads the note from the bank – UniCredit is confirmed as one of the most active bookrunners in the issuance of shares in Italy in the first four months, according to the Dealogic ranking”.
Speaking of M&A activity, the Megermarket data speak of a substantial increase in Italy in the first four months of 2018: the volume of transactions has risen to 50 billion euros since the beginning of the year, compared to 36 billion in the same period of 2017, with an increase of about 39%.
During the plenary sessions which characterized the first day of work, a discussion was held between some companies (Erg, EI Towers and Iren) and investors (Macquarie, Pan European Investment Fund II, PSP Investments) on the issue of infrastructure, one of the sectors on which strong attention has been concentrated in recent months, with M&A operations concluded at very high multiples.
“There are numerous Italian companies – continues Unicredit – operating in the sector that excel in terms of know-how, technology and customer base and are able to export their skills, becoming global centers of excellence. The infrastructure sector is increasingly becoming crucial in the growth objectives of various countries, including Italy, so much so that there are strong expectations for a rebalancing of the resources allocated to infrastructure within the new European Union budget under discussion ”.
"The amount of investment required to fill the Italian infrastructure needs, can be estimated 250 billion euros, requires a more efficient use of European and national public funds, the identification of a limited number of priority projects, greater use of the system of guarantees and finally a greater involvement of private capital" he added Alfredo De Falcon, head of CIB Italy of UniCredit. “In this last aspect, the infrastructures are becoming an important asset in the portfolio of global investors, with resources available to fund managers equal to 160 billion dollars at the end of 2017. Banks like ours can support companies both for financing needs and with advisory activities, helping them in choosing the best financial structure for the single operation and in accessing the capital market with instruments such as project bonds, particularly suitable for the phases subsequent to implementation".
