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Italy's Opera to launch second fund

Italy's Opera fund, the private equity unit of Italian luxury goods manufacturer Bulgari, is reportedly planning to raise a second fund targeting mid-market investment opportunities in the Italian luxury goods and services sector.

Opera, headed by former Morgan Grenfell Private Equity director Renato Preti, is said to be targeting E250m for its second fund with a final close pencilled in for the start of next year. As with Opera I, Bulgari, which controls 50 per cent of the management company, will be a cornerstone investor in the fund.

Opera I raised E225m significantly surpassing its E150m target with Bulgari committing 12 per cent of the capital. Since April 2001 the firm has invested around 61 per cent in six transactions, most recently acquiring a 55 per cent stake in furniture designer B&B Italia.

The launch of Opera's second fund comes a week after Italian firm B&S announced that it had exceeded its E500m target for its fourth fund at second closing, only seven months after the fund was launched.

Despite the apparently fruitful fundraising climate in Italy the exit market remains tough. B&S has so far made only one exit from its predecessor fund and Opera I has yet to achieve an exit.

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