The AIFI Yearbook, which is now at its fourteenth issue, intends to be a simple guide on the main features and trends related to Italian private equity and venture capital activities. Following a 2009 deeply affected by the important international and domestic financial crisis, the Italian private equity and venture capital industry showed, during the second half of 2010, the first sign of recovering scenario. Reading through quantitative data, it may be underlined that fundraising activity appears to have increased significantly, partly as a result of new players’ activity during the year; a recovery trend is even observed in terms of number of investments realized. As far as the disinvestment activity is concerned, it is worthwhile noticing that write offs registered a deep reduction both in terms of value and amount, reaching pre-crisis levels. The interest in small and medium enterprises remains strong, such as the renewed interest in the creation of a real and not purely financial value through a more sustainable use of leverage. The Yearbook, after a presentation of AIFI’s activities, presents the 2010 Italian Private Equity and Venture Capital Industry Survey (conducted with PricewaterhouseCoopers – Transaction Services), followed by an analysis of the main Tax and Legal Issues regarding the sector. In addition, the Yearbook contains three different researches: the first one about the Aggregate Performance (IRR) of the industry (carried out with KPMG Corporate Finance), the second about Expectations of the Private Equity Players for the first semester of 2011 (conducted by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services), and the third about the Venture Backed IPO Market (conducted by Ernst & Young Financial Business Advisors). The AIFI Yearbook also includes a statistical figures section on private equity and venture capital market in Italy, a list of the Board of Directors Members and of internal Committees, and the AIFI Members directory.
