About Nextalia

• Founded: 2016

• Headquarters: Milan, Italy

• Strategy: Mid-market buyout and growth equity, Italy-focused

• Track record: Fund I closed at €900m in 2019

• Leadership: Founded by Andrea Giannandrea, Fabio Sattin, and Luca Bassi

Nextalia has held a €1.1bn first close for its second flagship private equity fund, targeting a €1.5bn hard cap by year-end. The firm's debut fund closed at €900m five years ago, making this raise a 67% step-up at final target. The fund focuses on Italian mid-market companies, continuing the firm's geographic concentration strategy.

The €1.1bn first close positions Nextalia above the median for second-time European buyout managers in 2024, where many have struggled to exceed predecessor fund sizes. Italy-focused strategies have drawn steady LP interest despite broader European fundraising headwinds — Progressio SGR closed its second fund at €600m last year, and FSI closed its fifth fund at €1.2bn in 2023. Nextalia's ability to price a 67% step-up suggests LPs view Italy's fragmented ownership landscape and succession opportunities as offering deal flow insulation that pan-European generalists lack.

The question is deployment pace. Fund I's €900m was raised in 2019 and deployed across nine platform investments over roughly four years. If Fund II follows a similar cadence, the firm will need to close 12–13 deals to deploy €1.5bn at comparable check sizes, implying three to four new platforms annually. That pace is achievable in Italy's mid-market, but it requires Nextalia to compete more directly with larger Pan-European funds now writing €100m–€150m equity checks into Italian targets — a segment where Ardian, CVC, and Investindustrial have all been active in the past 18 months.

Source: Private Equity Wire