October 01, 2025
While known globally for being the fashion mecca, Milan is the undisputed hub of Italy’s financial ecosystem and the center of gravity for private equity and alternative investments. The city’s dense network of investment firms, banks, and advisors has created an environment where capital is deployed at scale and mid-market companies find the partners they need to grow, professionalize, and expand internationally.
Milan is not only home to Italy’s most active private equity players but also a growing hub for sustainability, infrastructure, and alternative asset innovation. For investors and allocators, it represents both the entry point to Italian enterprise and a vantage point into Europe’s evolving private markets. Today, we will be discussing the top ten private equity firms in Milan and you will have a better understanding of why the city is not only a great spot for buying clothes but also deploying capital at a ready speed.
Overview: Azimut Group is an independent financial group headquartered in Milan, operating globally across asset management, wealth management, investment banking and fintech. It serves individuals, institutions, and corporations, offering investment solutions through a model that integrates asset management with distribution hubs in major markets worldwide, including emerging and frontier markets.
Focus: The group’s focus spans both public and private markets, with a strong emphasis on private market funds. It aims to offer diversified investment strategies to both retail and institutional clients, leveraging its international presence and advisory capabilities to meet client needs in different regulatory and market environments.
Overview: CDP Equity is part of the CDP Group (Cassa Depositi e Prestiti), the Italian national promotional institution. It plays a strategic role in supporting growth, competitiveness, innovation, and internationalization among Italian enterprises. It engages in a range of financial instruments including private equity, venture capital, and supports public and private-sector projects aligned with national priorities.
Focus: CDP Equity’s focus is on making equity investments to strengthen Italian companies, especially those with high innovation potential or strategic importance. It also supports the green transition and emerging markets, participates in European funds, and works through national and European programs to finance internationalization, infrastructure, and sustainable growth.
Overview: DeA Capital Alternative Funds is the private markets arm of DeA Capital based in Milan. Since its founding in 2006, it has developed in alternative investments including private equity (direct funds and funds of funds), special situations, and non-performing loans (NPLs). It manages multiple funds with exposure both in Italy and globally, has a dedicated investment team, and caters to sophisticated institutional investors and entrepreneurs.
Focus: Its investment focus includes deploying capital into direct private equity funds (generalist and thematic), funds of funds, vehicles for special situations, and NPL opportunities. It also emphasizes innovation, ESG, and thematic funds (e.g. sustainable growth, food & beverage sector) alongside offering diversified geographic exposure.
Overview: Sella SGR is an Italian asset management company that offers a broad spectrum of investment products including mutual funds, fixed-maturity funds, alternative funds, and SICAVs. It also provides pension solutions and managed portfolios, and is committed to sustainability and impact investing, with a governance and team structure focused on professional management and responsible investment.
Focus: Its investment focus is on creating diversified investment vehicles for retail and institutional clients, with attention to sustainability, responsible finance, and impact investing, while providing both guided and customized investment choices.
Overview: Fondo Italiano d’Investimento is an Italian investment firm (SGR) based in Milan that manages several billion euros of assets. It operates with direct and indirect investment strategies including private equity, private debt, impact investing, and secondary transactions. The firm supports Italian enterprises through buy-outs, growth capital, co-investments, and funds of funds.
Focus: Its focus is on accelerating the growth and internationalization of Italian companies, promoting impact investing and sustainable value creation, deploying capital through private equity and private debt, and using both direct investments and fund structures.
Overview: FSI SGR is a Milan-based investment firm that partners with Italian companies, especially in the mid-market segment, providing capital for development, expansion, and value creation. It operates with a professional investment team, under governance frameworks, and with ESG and sustainability embedded in its operations. Its mandate includes being a “bridge” between patient capital and high-potential Italian enterprises.
Focus: FSI focuses on investments in Italian mid-market companies with growth potential; it uses a proprietary, disciplined investment approach based on developing enterprises via both organic growth and acquisitions, creating value in partnership with entrepreneurs, and emphasizing ESG criteria.
Overview: Clessidra is one of Italy’s established private equity firms, focused on investing in medium to large Italian companies. The firm manages buy-out funds, growth capital, and special situation investments, aiming to partner with management teams or founding shareholders to professionalize operations and scale businesses.
Focus: Its investment strategy revolves around Italian companies with solid market positions where further value can be added through operational improvements, strategic development, digitalization, or international expansion. It seeks to generate value through hands-on management and long-term partnerships.
Overview: Ambienta is a Milan-based asset manager founded in 2007, with additional offices across Europe. Its mission is to invest in businesses whose operations contribute to environmental sustainability, especially those that deliver resource efficiency and pollution control. It combines private equity, public markets, and credit strategies under a sustainability lens.
Focus: Ambienta focuses on companies that are environmental “champions” in their sectors—businesses that can profitably scale by aligning with environmental trends. It invests across Europe in private equity deals, and also allocates across public markets and credit instruments, always with ESG and sustainability embedded as a core component of its value creation model.
Overview: Equita Capital SGR is part of the Equita Group and was established in 2019 as a platform for managing alternative assets including private equity, private debt, renewable infrastructure, and liquid strategies. It serves institutional clients and entrepreneurs, offering tailored investment solutions, leveraging Equita’s broader experience in financial markets and corporate finance.
Focus: The firm is focused on providing growth capital to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) via equity and minority stake investments, structuring private debt solutions across the capital structure, and investing in renewable infrastructure in support of the energy transition. It emphasizes sustainability, customized mandate solutions, and partnering with companies to fuel their development.
Overview: Alto Partners is a private equity firm based in Milan, with over twenty years of experience working alongside Italian entrepreneurial families. It invests in mid-sized companies, often supporting management buy-outs, expansion, or turnarounds, and tailors its approach to build sustainable value in cooperation with owners and management.
Focus: The strategy centers on disciplined value creation through operational improvements, governance enhancements, and strategic support; sectors are varied but include industrials, consumer goods, services, and others. Alto Partners tends to target businesses that are already fairly established but have room for growth, international expansion, or optimization. Sustainability / ESG is increasingly part of the lens.
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