PRIVATE EQUITY AND ENTERPRISE GROWTH: AN ITALIAN PERSPECTIVE

This paper investigates the entrepreneurial and economic benefits of Italian companies subject to participation in risk capital by private equity and venture capital firms. By analyzing the performances before, during and after investor and fund participations in companies on a time horizon of 10 years, this work shows that the impact of private equity is extremely positive in economic, asset and financial terms, both compared to an appropriate benchmark and the national trend. Results also highlight the improved performances of companies in the years following private equity and possible IPO process, as well as of enterprises in which the investors and funds have retained major, rather than minor or nonexistent, interest after listing procedure