Equita S p A : wins AIFI-Deloitte's Private Debt Award 2021 in the "Leverage buyout / Extraordinary transactions" category

PRESS RELEASE

EQUITA WINS AIFI-DELOITTE'SPRIVATE DEBT AWARD IN THE "LEVERAGED BUYOUT / EXTRAORDINARY TRANSACTIONS" CATEGORY FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW

Milan, 5th October 2021

Equita, the leading independent investment bank in Italy, is proud to announce that its private debt team won the 2021 edition of the AIFI and Deloitte's Private Debt Award. The award, this year to its fourth edition, aims to increase awareness of private debt as a crucial asset to support development and growth of small-medium enterprises in Italy.

Thanks to its investment in Crippa, Equita was ranked first in the "Closed transactions - Leveraged buyout / Extraordinary transactions" category.

Paolo Pendenza, Head of Private Debt at Equita Capital SGR, commented: "This important award comes right after the recent closing of a new fundraising phase of Equita Private Debt Fund II, our second private debt fund. The team won for the second year in a row the LBO category. This time, two investments were shortlisted by the jury as finalists: Crippa and Tecnopool, winner and runner-uprespectively. We are so proud of the team. This shows our ability to identify successful investments, while also assisting small and medium-sizedprivate companies and sponsors".

In June 2020, the private debt team invested, with a mix of subordinated debt and equity, Euro 13.5 million to finance the acquisition of Crippa - a leading player in the production of fully automated, full-electric machines for bending and working metal tubes for the automotive, naval, aerospace and furniture sectors - by a group of investors led by Astraco.

The winners were selected among 18 investments submitted by 11 private debt funds and 2 distressed debt funds. The jury was chaired by Innocenzo Cipolletta (chairman, AIFI) and composed of Luigi Abete (chairman, FeBAF), Andrea Azzolini (manager debt advisory, Deloitte), Guido Corbetta (professor of management and technology, Bocconi), Marco Ferrando (editor in chief of Finanza & Mercati - Il Sole 24ORE), Giancarlo Giudici (associate professor of corporate finance, School of Management Politecnico Milano), Sergio Luciano (editor in chief, Economy), Giovanni Maggi (chairman, Assofondipensione), Luca Manzoni (manager corporate banking, Banco BPM), Emanuele Orsini (vice chairman, Confindustria), Federico Visconti (dean, Università Carlo Cattaneo - LIUC) and Dario Voltattorni (secretary general, Confindustria Lombardia).

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Equita, the leading Italian independent investment bank, has been offering its expertise and insight on financial markets to professional investors, corporates and institutions for more than 45 years. The holding Equita Group, listed on the "STAR" segment of the Italian Stock Exchange, counts its managers and professionals among shareholders (with approximately 54% of the share capital) and this ensures a strong alignment of interests with investors. With its global markets activities, today Equita is the leading independent broker in Italy that offers to its institutional clients brokerage services on equities, fixed income, derivatives and ETFs. Moreover, thanks to the continuous engagement of the award winning research team - acknowledged for its top quality research - the trading floor supports investors' decisions with valuable analyses and investment ideas on Italian and European financial markets. Equita also leverages on a unique investment banking platform that combines independent strategic advice with unparalleled access to capital markets. The wide offering proposed includes advisory services in M&A, other extraordinary financial transactions, along with equity and fixed income capital raising solutions. Our aim is to best serve all clients, from large industrial groups to small and medium enterprises, from financial institutions to the public sector. Lastly, Equita Capital SGR offers to institutional investors and banking groups its asset management competences and its deep understanding of financial markets, especially in mid and small caps. The strong focus on alternative assets like private debt and the asset management strategies based on distinctive areas of expertise of the Group make Equita Capital SGR the best partner for both investors looking for interesting returns.

EQUITA GROUP S.P.A.| VIA TURATI, 9 - 20121 MILAN | TEL. [phone] | [e-mail] | WWW.EQUITA.EU

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