Mediolanum Raises Debut Fund-of-Funds –

LONDON – Mediolanum State Street SGRpA, an Italian-U.S. asset management firm, in late March raised E160 million ($143 million) for Fondamenta, its first Italian private equity fund-of-funds product. The fund-of-funds is registered in Italy and is authorized by the Banca d’Italia with Banca Commerciale Italiana acting as custodian.

Fondamenta has been structured to invest 60% to 70% in Italian private equity funds and 30% to 40% in Italian co-investments, mainly in small-medium sized companies. To date, the fund has made commitments of about E34 million to Italian funds including Arca Impresa and Emerald, which are generalist funds with a focus on expansion capital; Convergenza, which focuses on the media sector; and Opera, an Italian lifestyle fund targeting the luxury goods and fashion industries.

In addition to State Street Global Advisors and Mediolanum Vita, institutional investors that have committed to the fund include Fondazione Cariplo; Fondazione Cariverona and Cassa Forense.

Erich Stock of State Street Global Advisors said that it had taken over a year to authorize the investment vehicle.

Alan Brown, chairman of Mediolanum State Street, said: “Fondamenta’s launch is extremely timely: the impact of generational change on the Italian corporate sector has led to an increase in IPOs. The development of equity markets in Europe over the last 10 years and the opportunities these changes have provided, has resulted in the arrival locally of a number of international private equity firms.”