Private Equity FundPuts its own capital into companiesActive · deal in last 18 monthsLAST VERIFIED Oct 2026 · 31 SOURCES

Merito SGR

Also known as Merito Società di Gestione del Risparmio S.p.A., MERITO SOCIETÀ DI GESTIONE DEL RISPARMIO S.P.A., Merito SGR S.p.A.

Independent Milan private debt SGR founded by Gabriele Casati and Alberto Arrotta, financing private-equity-backed buyouts and growth of Italian SMEs.

HEADQUARTERS: Milan, Italy
FOUNDED: —
AUM: —
OUTSIDE CAPITAL: Yes
TEAM LISTED: 7 people

Focus

STAGES: GrowthBuyout
SECTORS: Industrial & Manufacturing Consumer & E-commerce Food & Agriculture Software & SaaS
ASSET MIX: Private credit
GEOGRAPHY: Italy

Overview

Merito SGR is an Italian management company authorised in June 2021 to manage reserved closed-end AIFs and focused solely on private debt. It manages its own fund, Merito Private Debt (2022 vintage, €114M), and, under a management delegation from Azimut Libera Impresa SGR since June 2022, the Antares AZ I fund (2016 vintage, €127M). It mainly finances leveraged buyouts and acquisitions sponsored by Italian and international private equity funds, using senior and subordinated debt with opportunistic equity or quasi-equity. In December 2025 Ersel Asset Management SGR and Banca Finnat agreed to buy 30% of its capital, subject to regulatory approval.

Investment thesis

Tailored debt for Italian SMEs across the capital structure, mainly senior debt (operating or structurally subordinated) with opportunistic equity/quasi-equity, for private equity M&A, extraordinary needs of entrepreneurs, organic growth and refinancing; no sector focus, cash-flow-based analysis, average ticket about €4–7M, buy-and-hold.

PORTFOLIO (20)

TWINSETNOTABLE
Consumer & E-commerce · since 2025
Futur-A Group
since 2025
Lapi Plast
Industrial & Manufacturing · since 2024
Errevi System
Software & SaaS · since 2024
Trevi Group
Consumer & E-commerce · since 2024
The Nice Kitchen
Industrial & Manufacturing · since 2024
Tecno Pool
Industrial & Manufacturing · since 2024
Ciemme
Food & Agriculture · since 2024
Octa Group
Industrial & Manufacturing · since 2023
Fornaio del Casale
Food & Agriculture · since 2023
Next Imaging
Industrial & Manufacturing · since 2023
MCube
Media & Entertainment · since 2023
AI GEN
Software & SaaS · since 2023 · Exited
Se.Fa
Industrial & Manufacturing · since 2022 · Exited
Emmequattro
Industrial & Manufacturing · since 2022 · Exited
Cloud Care
since 2022 · Exited
Guaresi
Food & Agriculture · since 2022 · Exited
Gruppo Manifatture Italiane
Consumer & E-commerce · since 2019 · Exited
Lima Corporate
since 2017 · Exited
Renco Group
Industrial & Manufacturing · since 2017 · Exited

People

Gabriele Casati
CEO, co-founder (50% shareholder) · source
Alberto Arrotta
Chairman, co-founder (50% shareholder) · source
Paolo Basile
Independent Director · source
Ludovica Marzocchi
Investment team · source
Niccolò Tanini
Investment team · source
Fabio Minervini
Team member · source
Luca Algisi
Team member · source

Frequently asked questions

Merito SGR is a private equity fund based in Milan, Italy.

Yes. Merito SGR invests its own capital in private companies.

Merito SGR invests at Growth and Buyout stages in Industrial & Manufacturing, Consumer & E-commerce, Food & Agriculture and Software & SaaS.

Merito SGR's stated ticket size is €3M–€15M.

Key people at Merito SGR include Gabriele Casati (CEO, co-founder (50% shareholder)), Alberto Arrotta (Chairman, co-founder (50% shareholder)), Paolo Basile (Independent Director) and Ludovica Marzocchi (Investment team).

Merito SGR's investments include TWINSET, Futur-A Group, Lapi Plast, Errevi System, Trevi Group, The Nice Kitchen, Tecno Pool and Ciemme, among others.

The most recent publicly reported investment by Merito SGR is TWINSET S.p.A. (LBO financing (private-equity backed) + equity, €5.0M), announced in Jun 2025.

Yes. Merito SGR manages capital from outside investors.