Selling a Business in Milan
Milan is Italy's commercial and financial capital and one of Southern Europe's most active M&A markets. The combination of world-leading industrial heritage, a dense concentration of strategic buyers, and strong international acquirer interest — from France, Germany, and the US in particular — makes Milan a market where well-run businesses achieve genuinely competitive outcomes.
The Milan mid-market M&A landscape in 2026
Milan's mid-market — businesses with enterprise values broadly between €10M and €500M — sits at the intersection of Italy's two most internationally relevant economic strengths: its manufacturing excellence and its luxury and lifestyle heritage. Both sectors generate consistent, high-quality deal flow with a genuinely global buyer universe.
Italian family businesses are the defining feature of the mid-market here. Multi-generational ownership, strong founder identity with the business, and a preference for continuity of the brand and workforce mean that sale processes in Milan often require more relationship investment and more time than equivalent transactions in London or Frankfurt. That is not a disadvantage — it simply means process design and buyer selection matter more.
International interest in Milan businesses has strengthened considerably. French luxury groups continue to acquire Italian heritage brands at premium multiples. German industrial buyers — particularly from Bavaria — are structurally acquisitive of Lombardy manufacturers. US private equity, which was historically less present in Italy, has increased its activity significantly, and a number of large PE houses now have Italian coverage teams based in Milan.
For businesses with strong earnings and clean ownership structures, a well-run competitive process in Milan can generate outcomes that compare favourably with equivalent businesses in more liquid European markets. The key is running a process that reaches the right international buyers, not just the domestic market.
Key sectors driving Milan M&A
Milan's economy is anchored in a set of sectors that are also the most active in M&A. Here is what buyer appetite looks like across each.
Fashion, Luxury & Lifestyle
Milan is the axis of global luxury. Brands from Armani to Versace to Prada have made Lombardy synonymous with design excellence, and that heritage creates a consistently active M&A market. French luxury conglomerates — LVMH, Kering, Richemont — are structural acquirers of Italian luxury brands, and they pay significant premiums for authentic heritage and production capability. Domestic consolidators and international PE funds with luxury mandates add further depth to the buyer universe.
Manufacturing & Precision Engineering
Lombardy is Italy's industrial heartland. Precision engineering, packaging machinery, automation systems, and specialist components businesses cluster around Milan, Bergamo, and Brescia — and German industrial buyers are consistently among the most active acquirers in this space. Mittelstand-style manufacturers from Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg view Lombardy manufacturing businesses as strategic complements, bringing both technology and Italian market access.
Financial Services
Milan is Italy's financial capital. Mediobanca, UniCredit, and Intesa Sanpaolo are headquartered here, alongside a dense ecosystem of asset managers, insurance groups, and specialist financial services businesses. M&A in financial services requires specific consideration of Banca d'Italia and IVASS regulatory approvals, which add timeline but are well-understood by experienced advisers. PE activity in financial services intermediaries — wealth managers, insurance brokers, payment processors — is substantial.
Technology & Digital
Italy's technology ecosystem is growing rapidly, with Milan at its centre. SaaS businesses, enterprise software companies, and digital services firms are attracting increasing attention from both domestic PE and international strategic acquirers. The Italian public administration's ongoing digital transformation is driving demand for government technology and IT services businesses based in Milan. H-Farm and the broader Italian venture ecosystem are producing a new generation of exits.
Food & Beverage
Premium Italian food and beverage brands are among the most sought-after targets for international acquirers. Whether it is speciality ingredients, premium pasta, olive oil, wine, or confectionery, international consumer goods groups pay meaningful premiums for authentic Italian brand provenance. The sector has seen consistent deal activity from US, French, and Swiss acquirers in recent years, and supply-chain integration is a common strategic rationale.
Design, Architecture & Creative Services
Milan's global reputation as a design capital — anchored by the Salone del Mobile and its broader design week ecosystem — extends into architecture, interior design, and creative agencies. Professional services businesses in this sector attract buyer interest from international consulting and design groups looking to acquire Italian capability and client relationships. Founder transition and talent retention are the primary structuring considerations.
Italian legal and structural considerations when selling your business
Selling an Italian business involves specific considerations under the Codice Civile, Italian labour law, and sector-specific regulatory frameworks. These are not obstacles, but they need to be understood and planned for before you begin a process.
SpA vs Srl — Share Transfer Mechanics
The distinction between a Società per Azioni and a Società a responsabilità limitata matters significantly in M&A. Srl share transfers require a notarial deed (atto notarile) and registration with the Registro delle Imprese, adding procedural steps that must be built into deal timelines. SpA transfers are more straightforward for listed or widely-held structures. Buyers will assess the corporate structure early in diligence, and conversions ahead of a transaction are sometimes worth considering.
Golden Power Regulation
Italy's Golden Power provisions give the government veto rights over acquisitions in strategic sectors — defence, energy, transport, communications, and increasingly technology and financial infrastructure. For businesses operating in or adjacent to these sectors, early assessment of whether a Golden Power notification is required is essential. The notification process adds regulatory lead time and creates a degree of government discretion that buyers from certain geographies factor into their risk assessments.
Italian Labour Law & Article 47
The transfer of a going concern (azienda) in Italy triggers information and consultation obligations under Article 47 of Law 428/1990, broadly analogous to the European Acquired Rights Directive. Employee representatives must be informed and consulted in a defined process. Buyers conduct thorough employment due diligence — Italian labour law is relatively protective of employees, and legacy employment disputes, INPS contributions, and TFR (trattamento di fine rapporto) accruals are priced carefully into deal economics.
Earn-Out Structures & Cultural Preferences
Italian business culture — and particularly the multi-generational family business tradition prevalent in Lombardy — tends towards a preference for upfront pricing over deferred consideration. Earn-outs, while not unknown, are less culturally embedded here than in Anglo-Saxon markets. Buyers who understand this dynamic structure their offers accordingly: a strong headline price with limited conditionality is generally more attractive than a higher theoretical maximum with significant earn-out dependency.
What international buyers look for in Milan businesses
The buyers achieving the most active deal flow in Milan in 2026 are international strategics and well-capitalised PE funds. Their priorities differ meaningfully from domestic buyers, and positioning your business for the right audience determines whether you achieve a competitive outcome or an average one.
Authentic Italian heritage and brand identity
For luxury and lifestyle businesses, the narrative of authenticity matters as much as the financials. French and American acquirers are paying premiums specifically for what cannot be replicated — genuine Italian craftsmanship, heritage story, and production geography. Businesses that can articulate this clearly command stronger multiples.
Proprietary production capability
German and Swiss industrial buyers acquiring Lombardy manufacturers are not just buying revenue — they are buying embedded process knowledge, supplier relationships, and engineering capability that took decades to build. Documenting and articulating this in an information memorandum is work that pays for itself in the quality of offers received.
Clean family shareholding structure
Multi-generational businesses often have complex shareholding structures — cross-holdings, dormant family members on the cap table, preference rights between family branches. Buyers price structural complexity into their offers. Resolving shareholding issues ahead of a process reduces this discount and simplifies execution.
Management continuity post-founder
A consistent concern for buyers in family businesses is what happens when the founder exits. Demonstrating that a second layer of management can run the business — or structuring a transition period that provides continuity — is one of the most effective ways to remove uncertainty from buyer models and tighten bid spreads.
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