Renaissance Partners buys Lodestar to lead Microsoft IT growth

Renaissance Partners has agreed to buy full control of Lodestar S.p.A., setting the stage for a push to scale Italy’s leading Microsoft-centric IT services platform. The transaction — struck with sellers led by Bravo Capital Partners II and minority holders — keeps senior management heavily invested and signals continuity as the business pursues its next growth chapter.

Founded in 2022 from the merger of three specialist teams, Lodestar now operates as a single digital transformation platform devoted to the Microsoft stack. The Group offers integrated services across cloud & cybersecurity, infrastructure, modern workplace, data analytics and enterprise software development. Headquartered in Milan, Lodestar covers Italy through 11 offices and employs around 500 professionals.

Under Bravo’s ownership Lodestar expanded its footprint through organic growth and selective bolt-on deals. The company has recorded double-digit organic growth and, according to management guidance, 2025 revenues are set to top €80 million. Those metrics underpin Renaissance’s thesis: an independent, Microsoft-focused operator can capture accelerating IT spend among Italian corporates and SMEs.

Fabio Luinetti, who took the helm in 2023, will remain CEO and lead execution of an operational plan developed with Renaissance. The buy-side investor intends to sharpen the operating model, deepen talent and workforce programmes, tighten governance and ESG standards, and pursue targeted acquisitions to broaden the platform’s capabilities.

Renaissance — which highlights a sector focus that includes IT, healthcare, sustainability and specialized industrials and manages over €3.4 billion in commitments — said it will work closely with Lodestar’s management to professionalise processes while preserving client intimacy. Financing for the deal will be provided by Ardian Private Credit, which will support the transaction structure and provide the necessary leverage.

Market context favours the deal. Italy’s enterprise IT services market has been picking up as corporates modernise legacy systems and accelerate cloud adoption. Vendors with deep Microsoft specialism are increasingly in demand: Microsoft-related solutions now anchor many digital transformation roadmaps and channel partners that can combine implementation, managed services and cybersecurity are well placed to win recurring work.

The transaction remains subject to routine regulatory clearances and is expected to complete in Q1 2026. Bravo Invest described the sale as a successful realization of a buy-and-build strategy from Bravo Capital Partners II, marking a first exit for the fund.

The deal positions Lodestar to accelerate its platform ambitions inside the Microsoft ecosystem, while giving Renaissance a strategic anchor in the Italian technology and professional services landscape.