Excellera Advisory Group, Italy’s leading corporate affairs advisory group, enters a new phase of expansion with ICG joining as its financial partner for the company’s next stage of growth. Backed since its inception by Xenon Private Equity, Excellera has outperformed its growth targets ahead of schedule and is now ready to scale internationally, supported by ICG, a leading global alternative asset manager, listed on the London Stock Exchange.
The transaction, expected to close in autumn 2025, marks a major milestone in Excellera’s journey, confirming the strategic vision behind its mission to create a corporate affairs champion in EMEA, connecting key international markets and thought-leaders, where political, regulatory, financial, and reputational priorities are shaped for the benefit of Excellera’s clients.
Today, Excellera brings together seven best-in-class firms in strategic communications and public affairs: Barabino & Partners, Cattaneo Zanetto Pomposo & Co., Community, Excellera Intelligence, Public Affairs Advisors, and Value Relations. Last month, the Group expanded its international reach with the addition of IP Excellera, a leading strategic communications consultancy in the MENA region.
As of today, Excellera has more than 350 employees and collaborators and a widespread presence across international markets with 15 offices located in Abu Dhabi, Bergamo, Berlin, Brussels, Dubai, Genoa, London, Madrid, Milan, Munich, New York, Paris, Riyadh, Rome and Treviso.
As a pioneering platform for the aggregation of leading advisory firms, Excellera was the first of its kind in Italy. With ICG’s support, Excellera will accelerate its international expansion and further consolidate its position in Italy, pursuing a model in which each company retains its brand identity and operational autonomy, while becoming increasingly interconnected and globally integrated. One of the main focuses of this new partnership will be to drive innovation and the development of a data-driven approach, an element that has always defined Excellera’s DNA, as demonstrated by the integration of INTWIG into the Group and the subsequent launch of Excellera Intelligence.
The Group’s management team, which includes founders of the individual firms, have selected ICG as their new partner and will reinvest the majority of their stake in the new transaction.
The transaction will see the formation of a Strategic Committee, an advisory board with strategic functions, which will support the Group in its development, positioning, and decisions on international consolidation. The committee will be chaired by Auro Palomba and will include Paolo Zanetto, Roberto Patriarca, Francesco Canessa and Davide Contu from ICG, in addition to other imminent appointments. The committee will be tasked with assisting management in the growth journey and defining global priorities.
Paolo Zanetto is confirmed as the Group CEO, in a board that also includes Francesco Canessa, Davide Contu, Claudia Pomposo and Federico Steiner. The Chairman will be appointed in the coming months.
Paolo Zanetto, CEO of Excellera Advisory Group, commented: “Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in the Excellera journey, a project we launched almost three years ago with the support of Xenon Private Equity. I am grateful for their trust, their vision, and all the work we’ve done together to build the strong foundations underpinning our growth. We are thrilled to welcome ICG as our new partner for the next stage of our journey. Their commitment to our ambition and their ability to inject new energy in our expansion path – including international acquisitions throughout the EMEA region – will be instrumental in shaping our future.”
Auro Palomba, Chairman of the Strategic Committee, said: “We have chosen ICG as our new partner for this growth journey that will see Excellera transition from a national champion to an international leader in corporate affairs. On behalf of our team, the operating partners, a special thanks to our friends at Xenon who, in 2022, envisioned the possibility of creating a consultancy group in Italy capable of challenging the international giants.”
Francesco Canessa, Associate Director at ICG, said: “We are delighted to form this new partnership with Excellera, a truly differentiated leader within the European corporate affairs space, having built an incredibly attractive proposition in a relatively short period of time. We see huge opportunities for growth and look forward to working with the talented management team as we focus on expanding into new markets and geographies to further consolidate the Group’s position as a leader within EMEA.”
Franco Prestigiacomo, Founding Partner and Managing Director at Xenon Private Equity, added:
“We are very proud of the path we’ve taken together with Excellera. Across the globe, leading government and reputation affairs firms are growing with the backing of financial partners. With Excellera, we pioneered this model in Italy, showing how an investment fund like ours can accelerate development. In a short time, the Group has become a major Italian force in strategic communications and public affairs with a clear international focus. We are confident that, with ICG’s support, Excellera will continue to grow and strengthen its position as a global leader in the industry.”
The advisors for the operation on behalf of ICG were PedersoliGattai for legal matters, Fineurop Soditic, Alvarez & Marsal, and Bain & Company for financial and business aspects.
The legal advisors for Excellera Advisory Group were Gatti Pavesi Bianchi Ludovici, BonelliErede, Eversheds Sutherland and Cattaneo Dall’Olio Rho & Partners. Rothschild, ALMA Corporate Partners and Deloitte acted as financial advisors.