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Star Capital
Star Capital SGR was founded in 2001 by Perricone, a former KPMG Corporate Finance senior manager and Eptaconsors central director. The firm has been active in...
Star Capital
Star Capital SGR was founded in 2001 by Perricone, a former KPMG Corporate Finance senior manager and Eptaconsors central director. The firm has been active in closed-end fund management since November 2002. The current partnership — including Senior Partners Stefano Zavattaro, Marco Biraghi and Luca Francesco Grassano — took full ownership of the management company in May 2010. Each partner's professional biography runs straight through Italian private equity, corporate finance and audit, with principals averaging over 15 years of collaboration inside the firm. Star Capital targets majority and minority equity investments in Italian industrial and service companies with enterprise values typically under €100 million. Sectors are broad — manufacturing, business services, niche industrial — rather than thematic, because the sourcing model rewards local relationship density over sector-labeling. The firm structures each deal through one of four vintage closed-end funds: SSRF (€100.3 million, 2002), SBSRF (€70 million, 2006), Star III (€87.7 million, 2012) and Star IV (€140 million, 2018). Across those vehicles the firm has completed 28 platform investments, most in Northern Italy, using a buyout-plus-growth-equity approach that often involves secondary transactions or succession-driven deals in family-held businesses. Since 2002 the four funds have collected a combined €398 million in commitments and completed 28 investments. The latest vehicle, Star IV, closed at €140 million in August 2018 and wrapped its investment period in August 2023 with seven deals. Star Capital's office remains in Milan, and the team has included a dedicated ESG Officer since at least 2023, reflecting the fact that funds have been branded as "social responsible" since the 2002 vintage. The firm has not publicly disclosed a successor fund vehicle as of mid-2026. What separates Star Capital is the pairing of an all-manager-owned SGR structure with a deliberate refusal to expand beyond Italian SME private equity. Most competitors of similar vintage either sold to larger platforms or widened their mandate. Star Capital kept the partnership concentrated, the fund sizes bounded, and the geographic lens fixed, turning management independence into a quiet structural moat that aligns the partnership with the 20-year hold periods typical of the Italian industrial families they back.
General information
Firm type
Bank / Wealth / Trust
Year founded
2001
Location
Region
North America
Country
Italy
City
London, England
Corporate office
Milan, Italy
Principals
Antonio Perricone
Managing Partner e amministratore delegato
Stefano Zavattaro
Senior Partner e consigliere con delega investimenti
Marco Biraghi
Senior Partner e consigliere con delega investimenti
Luca Francesco Grassano
Senior Partner e consigliere con delega investimenti
Elisabetta Grassano
Direttore amministrativo
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who controls Star Capital SGR?
Since May 2010 the management company's capital has been entirely held by its own partners. Managing Partner and CEO Antonio Perricone sits alongside Senior Partners Stefano Zavattaro, Marco Biraghi and Luca Francesco Grassano, each of whom holds a board seat with investment delegation.
What size companies does Star Capital pursue?
The firm targets Italian small and medium enterprises — typically industrial or service companies — with deal tickets calibrated to its €70 million to €140 million vintage funds. Most transactions are control or co-control buyouts that fall under the lower mid-market threshold in Italy.
Does Star Capital invest outside Italy?
No. The firm's stated mandate is Italian SMEs. All 28 completed investments across four funds were located principally in Italy, and team members have spent their entire careers focused on the Italian lower mid-market.
How does Star Capital source its deals?
Sourcing is proprietary and relationship-driven. Partners typically originate transactions through their direct networks in Italian industrial districts, often working with succession-driven family owners, rather than through auction processes. The team's average collaboration tenure exceeds 15 years, reinforcing local origination depth.
What is the firm's fund structure and LP base?
All vehicles are closed-end Italian mutual funds reserved for qualified investors. The four vintages — SSRF, SBSRF, Star III and Star IV — raised a combined €398 million. The firm has not disclosed LP identities, but the vehicles are structured to pool institutional and qualified private capital for deployment in single-country private equity.
Is Star Capital a single-family office or a fund manager?
Star Capital is a regulated asset management company (SGR) authorized by the Bank of Italy, not a family office. It manages pooled closed-end funds for external qualified investors alongside the partners' own capital. The firm's architecture fits the independent GP model.
Has Star Capital raised a fifth fund?
As of mid-2026 the firm has not publicly disclosed a successor to Star IV. The fourth fund's investment period ended in August 2023, and standard private equity cycles would place a potential follow-on vehicle in the fundraising or pre-launch window.
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