5 questions with Roberta Battaglia, Managing Director and Head of Italy at CVC DIF

1.     Why has CVC DIF opened a new office in Milan?

The decision to open a new office in Milan is rooted in CVC DIF's longstanding commitment to taking a local approach. That model has been already successfully implemented across 11 offices globally with a team of 120 investment professionals. We believe that this approach can be effectively replicated in the Italian infrastructure market, which is both attractive from an investor’s point of view and strategically important for CVC DIF’s continued growth. 

 

The opening of the Milan office makes even more sense following CVC DIF’s combination with CVC Capital Partners. CVC Capital Partners has had a longstanding presence in Italy, having established its Milan office back in 1987. Over the past decade, CVC Capital Partners has deployed more than €5 billion of equity in Italy and employs 10 investment professionals in Milan. This network and local expertise provides a valuable complement to CVC DIF’s capabilities.

 

The new Milan office will also allow CVC DIF to enhance its connections with local businesses and entrepreneurs, particularly within the SME community. Italy is home to over 4 million SME¹ which contribute to more than 60% of Italy’s GDP and more than 75% of employment².

 

Given the high concentration of SMEs, Italy’s industries remain highly fragmented, creating opportunities for investors to consolidate sectors and build platform businesses – a key part of CVC DIF’s value creation strategy.

 

 

2.      What makes the Italian market particularly attractive for an infrastructure investor like CVC DIF?

 

The Italian infrastructure sector is strategically important within the EU. The Italian government's initiatives, combined with a relatively stable macro-political environment, have restored investor confidence, as evidenced by recent mega-deals in the country from large-cap investors.

 

CVC DIF focuses on mid-market infrastructure investments as we believe they offer the best upside for investors. Italy is particularly rich in mid-market infrastructure businesses.

The potential to consolidate SMEs as part of CVC DIF's platform-building strategy is also a possibility in the SME-rich Italian economy. Much of the infrastructure sector is dominated by smaller businesses that lack the capital to make the investments to drive growth. This is where an investor like CVC DIF can make a significant difference. Perhaps more than any other major European economy, there is scope to consolidate groups of these smaller companies into larger platform businesses. As well as access to equity capital from CVC DIF, increased scale also gives them greater access to debt capital to help them scale up more quickly.

 

Italy is prioritizing infrastructure investments as a central pillar of its economic development. The Italian government is allocating over €400 billion towards infrastructure investments, with 95% of this funding directed towards priority infrastructure projects in key areas such as rail, road and urban development³. 

 

For a leading infrastructure investor like CVC DIF, the opportunity to play a pivotal role in accelerating Italy’s infrastructure modernization is compelling.

 

 

3.      The energy transition is driving significant investment opportunities in the infrastructure market. What steps is Italy taking to accelerate its transition to a more sustainable economy?

 

Energy transition is a central priority for the Italian government, and significant investments are being made to accelerate the shift towards renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure.

 

As part of its commitment to the energy transition, Italy has earmarked over €50 billion within the PNRR⁴ (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) for energy transition-related infrastructure. This funding is directed towards a variety of initiatives, including the development of renewable energy projects, enhancing energy efficiency, building electric vehicle charging infrastructure and exploring the potential of green hydrogen. Italy's push to increase renewable energy generation also requires significant investments in energy storage and other related services to ensure reliable grid transmission.

 

Another key area of focus has been improving energy efficiency in Italy's aging building stock. The government has implemented incentive schemes to promote the renovation of residential, public, and commercial buildings. These programs encourage the adoption of energy-saving measures, including better insulation, upgrading heating systems, and installing renewable energy technologies such as solar panels.

 

From a CVC DIF perspective, these incentive schemes can offer attractive investment opportunities, particularly in the B2B sector, where long-term contracts and larger-scale implementations are often more accessible compared to the B2C market.

 

 

4.      Digitalization is another key trend driving infrastructure investments. How is Italy progressing in terms of digital infrastructure implementation compared to the broader European market?

 

Digitalization is a major driver of infrastructure investments across Europe, and Italy is making significant strides in this area. The Italian PNRR allocates over €30 billion for digital infrastructure⁵, with a strong emphasis on expanding high-speed broadband and 5G networks.

 

Fibre-optic broadband coverage in Italy has reached around 60% of households⁶, which is a significant achievement. However, when compared to some of the leading European countries, Italy still lags behind. Italy’s goal is to achieve 100% fibre coverage⁷ to households by 2026, ahead of the EU-wide target of 2030, and is driving substantial investments in fibre networks, telecom infrastructure, and related digital services.

 

Italy has also emerged as an early adopter of 5G technology in Europe. The country has made considerable progress in expanding its 5G coverage, with a goal of nationwide 5G deployment by 2026 under the government’s "Piano Italia 5G" initiative.

 

Widespread 5G and fibre coverage are key enablers for SMEs to adopt digital solutions, including cloud and AI tools, requiring higher computing capabilities, increased power, redundancy, and low-latency connections. As a result, we see compelling investment opportunities in areas like data centers and other supporting telecom services in Italy.

5.      For you personally: what are the factors that drew you to CVC DIF?

 

Joining CVC DIF, a leading player with a 20-year track record of success in infrastructure investing and over €18 billion under management, has been highly appealing. Being part of the CVC family was certainly another attraction – it has a long history of success in the Italian market.

 

I also see the opportunity here as being an ‘entrepreneurial’ one – investing and building our capabilities in Italy while being supported by the scale, expertise and history of two organisations like CVC DIF and CVC.

 

Working in the infrastructure mid-market was the most rewarding work of my career and that is the core of what CVC DIF does. The mid-market is where investors can add the most value to assets and that’s particularly the case in Italy. That combined with being able to invest through both core+ and value-add strategies gives us a lot of flexibility in the size and risk profiles of assets we can consider for investment.

 

Finally CVC DIF’s corporate culture is one that is well-regarded in the infrastructure sector. This is a very successful team filled with deep expertise and people from all kinds of backgrounds but everyone has managed to stay humble. That’s unusual and valuable.

 

¹ Source: Osservatorio Politecnico di Milano

² Source: Il Sole 24 Ore

³ Source: Camera dei Deputati

⁴ Source: Italiadomani.gov.it

⁵ Source: Italiadomani.gov.it

⁶ Source: Agcom

⁷ Source: innovazione.gov.it