Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG) is to open an office in Milan to access the Italian market directly, an important next step in the further development of its investment strategy. An investment team of the subsidiary DBAG Italia s.r.l. (DBAG Italia) will search for and structure investment opportunities for the DBAG funds and support the portfolio companies in their further development. Last year, DBAG made its first direct investment in an Italian company, followed most recently by another sizeable transaction. Future investments will be done DBAG Fund VIII, the most recent private equity fund advised by DBAG. Up to a quarter of the fund volume is to be invested in Italy. Based on the size of the fund, this would equate up to 300 million euros. DBAG Italia is led by Giovanni Revoltella (born 1978). He has been involved in investments in medium-sized companies in Italy and other European countries for more than 15 years - at Argan Capital based in London, and most recently as a partner and co-head of industrial technology at Capvis, based in Switzerland. As Senior Advisor, Antonio Corbani (born 1960) will continue to support DBAG in evaluating investment opportunities in Italy. He has more than 25 years of investment experience in acquiring and developing medium-sized Italian companies. Both Mr. Revoltella and Mr. Corbani have a wide range of experience in managing companies from private equity portfolios, with different investment approaches (growth, internationalisation, strategic repositioning, restructuring) and across economic cycles. The corporate landscape in Italy is characterised above all by many medium-sized, family-owned companies that have often been able to establish themselves in niche segments on the international markets. Recently, a growing number of such companies have set out to address new markets outside Europe. Accompanying the international expansion of family-run companies is one of DBAG's core strengths: around two-thirds of the 32 companies in the portfolio have been acquired from founders or families. Italy's also offers attractive growth strategies within the country - for example through consolidation or buy-and-build concepts in various sectors, which DBAG has been supporting very successfully for several years.