M&A advisory in Milan and Northern Italy
Alma Next handles sales, acquisitions, business successions and restructurings for companies in Milan and Northern Italy, from its base in the Principality of Monaco and in Italy whenever needed. A boutique, one point of contact from start to finish, and a deliberate choice not to chase the deal at any cost.
At a glance
What we do
Sales and acquisitions, business succession, restructuring, target and partner search
Who for
Companies in Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto and Emilia, and groups that want to grow by acquisition
Where
Based in Monaco, in Italy when needed: we have no office in Milan and are not opening one
First step
A confidential meeting, with no commitment and no documents to prepare in advance
Confidentiality
No name is shared without your written consent
Base
Principality of Monaco
Locations
Italy, Monaco, France, Switzerland
Transactions
Sell side and buy side
Point of contact
One, from the first meeting to signing
The companies we work with in Northern Italy
Manufacturing and subcontracting
Engineering, machining, components and materials, in the industrial districts running from Milan to Brescia and Bergamo and down towards Emilia. Businesses with plant, inventory and an often concentrated customer base: three things that weigh heavily on value and can be prepared before a sale.
Business services and facilities
Facility management, maintenance, contract catering, building services, construction. It is the world our founder worked in for twenty years with responsibility for margins and contracts: here we know how to read a tender, a multi-year contract and the difference between recurring revenue and revenue that ends with the job.
Second-generation family businesses
Northern Italy is full of solid companies founded between the 1970s and the 1990s that now face two questions at once: who will run them and who will own them. They are better dealt with separately, using the approach described on our page on business succession.
Why an adviser based in Monaco
It is a fair question and you will ask it anyway. Here are the three reasons we are prepared to stand behind, and one thing we do not promise.
The right distance
In Milan news travels fast, and a transaction that leaks early loses value before it has even started. Running the process from outside, without mixing every week with the same advisers, banks and competitors, leaves fewer traces and better protects the seller.
Northern Italy known from the inside
Our founder spent twenty years inside Northern Italian companies, first running a business he founded and later sold, then heading sales for international groups. He has signed payrolls and budgets: he reads a balance sheet thinking about the week the company has ahead, not just the multiple.
A boutique, not a counter
We handle few transactions at a time, and the person who answers your first message is the same person at the table on signing day. What we do not promise is an office in central Milan: we come to Italy when the transaction requires it, and we say so up front rather than letting you find out later.
Who sits across the table
A Lombard company up for sale meets four types of counterparty, and none of the four reads the same business in the same way. Knowing who you are dealing with changes the memorandum to prepare, the order of approaches and, in the end, the price.
| Counterparty | What they want | What they look at first |
|---|---|---|
| Italian industrial group | Market share, production capacity, skills they lack | Real synergies and the cost of integrating them |
| Foreign group | A fast, credible entry into the Italian market | The strength of the management team and how much the business relies on its founder |
| Financial investor | Growth to fund and an exit in due course | How repeatable the margins are and the quality of the data they receive |
| Management or family buyer | Continuity for a business they already know | Whether the debt needed to buy it is sustainable |
Bringing more than one type of counterparty to the table is the only thing that really shifts the balance of a negotiation. How that list is built, and how counterparties are approached without revealing the company’s name, is described on our page on M&A advisory.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have an office in Milan?
No. Our office is in the Principality of Monaco, and we come to Italy whenever the transaction requires it: meetings with the owner, site visits, sessions with counterparties and with your advisers. We would rather say so here than have you discover it after signing the mandate.
Do you only work with Lombard companies?
No. Northern Italy is the region we know best, from Lombardy and Piedmont to Veneto and Emilia, but we handle transactions across Italy and with foreign counterparties. What matters is the type of business and the moment it is going through, not the province.
How large does a company need to be to work with you?
Size is not the deciding factor, the substance of the transaction is: the business needs readable margins, a market and a definable perimeter. Below a certain threshold the cost of a structured process does not pay for itself, and in that case we say so at the first meeting rather than accept the mandate.
How does a first contact from abroad work?
Write a couple of lines through the form below or on WhatsApp. We reply personally and set up a confidential call or meeting, in Italy or in the Principality. There is nothing to prepare: at the first meeting we talk about the situation and the objectives, and the figures come later, only if you decide to go ahead.
Do you also support Italian companies acquiring abroad?
Yes. On the buy side we set the criteria, search for and vet targets and make the approach, including outside Italy. Where local expertise is needed we work with professionals on the ground chosen with you, and we remain your single point of contact on the transaction.
How are your fees structured?
A fixed element for the studies and preparation, and an element linked to completion of the transaction. The terms are set out in the mandate, in writing, before we begin: no surprise costs.
Read on
Selling, buying, business succession, restructuring, target search.
Where we work from, and what it changes for an Italian business owner.
The background of the people who work with you, with dates and roles.
A company in Northern Italy
Tell us about the situation in a few lines. We will reply personally, in confidence, even if only to tell you whether the timing is right.
Contact us.
A first meeting, with no commitment and in the strictest discretion, about the transaction you are considering.
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