EQUITA ranked #1 in the “Europe Direct Lender Subordinated” league table and was awarded best hybrid private capital investor of the year

Milan, October 1st, 2024 - EQUITA Capital SGR, one of the leading multi-strategy asset managers in Italy focusing on alternative assets, announces that EQUITA Private Debt Fund III (“EPD III”) successfully completed its first investment.

The private debt team assisted a leading private equity firm by providing €8 million of subordinated debt issued by one of its portfolio companies, with the aim of optimizing the company’s financial structure. The company is active in the healthcare industry and owns several patents and certifications that allows it to sell its products globally.

The investment was finalized by EPD III (which qualifies as an Article 8 product under the European SFDR, thus promoting environmental, social and governance best practices) and occurred right after the fund’s first closing, the latter completed with €106 million raised and €130 million of total commitments. Several outstanding institutional investors were involved in the fundraising process, including pension funds, insurance companies and banks. Going forward, the private debt team will continue to focus on the fundraising, with the aim of reaching €300 million of commitments by the end of 2025.

The team will also continue to build its pipeline of investment opportunities and deploy capital, with the aim of further consolidating its market position, which has seen EQUITA ranking #1 in the “Europe Direct Lender Subordinated” league table and #2 in the “Southern Europe Direct Lender” and “Italy Direct Lender”[1] league tables. Recently, the team was also awarded best 2024 hybrid private capital investor by Financecommunity and Latham & Watkins.

Paolo Pendenza, Managing Partner and Head of Private Debt at EQUITA, commented: “This investment confirms our ability to deploy capital at a fast pace, with obvious benefits for our investors. The goal is to close the fundraising in 2025, targeting €300 million. This will lead the private debt asset class to increase its assets under management above €600 million, an important milestone for us, after just 8 years in the market”.