Italian Industry’s Billion-Dollar Bet on the USA
Four Italian industrial groups have deployed ten billion dollars into the United States market through finalized acquisitions, defying earlier predictions that American trade barriers would isolate foreign capital, Corriere reported on October 19, 2026. The capital deployment matches a target presented by Giorgia Meloni at the White House eighteen months prior, executed through concrete corporate takeovers rather than diplomatic communiqués.
That capital concentration bypasses broad generalizations to target specific industrial nodes, led by Milan-based cable manufacturer Prysmian. Prysmian announced an agreement in August to acquire Atkore, an Illinois-based manufacturer of electrical conduit systems, for approximately 3.8 billion dollars. The transaction marks Prysmian’s fourth American acquisition following General Cable, Encore Wire, and Channell, pushing its cumulative U.S. investment past eleven billion dollars. Massimo Battaini, chief executive officer of Prysmian, stated that the push centers on data center infrastructure required to sustain the energy demands of artificial intelligence development.
Pharmaceuticals and Energy Infrastructure Expand Across State Lines
Family-owned pharmaceutical enterprise Angelini Pharma closed the acquisition of Florida-based Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, a Nasdaq-listed rare neurological disease specialist, for approximately 4.1 billion dollars in July. Financial backing for the transaction involved Blackstone and Cdp Equity. Simultaneously, Enel Green Power acquired a portfolio of wind and solar generating facilities from Excelsior Energy Capital, a Minnesota fund, for roughly one billion dollars, with the Utah solar installation supplying power directly to Meta operations.
In Georgia, Pirelli advanced a 1.2 billion-dollar expansion plan for its Rome manufacturing plant approved by its board in September. The project targets an output capacity of six million tires annually and one thousand new jobs between 2027 and 2033. Three board members appointed by stakeholder Sinochem voted against the plant expansion plan. Following governance adjustments mandated under Italy’s golden power legislation, Washington granted clearance for Pirelli to market its sensor-equipped Cyber Tyre product line within the United States.
The Italian agro-industry also expanded its American footprint through Ferrero’s acquisition of granola producer Purely Elizabeth for 600 million dollars and Barilla’s purchase of Santa Cruz-based protein mac-and-cheese maker Goodles.
Italy and US Launch Reliable Technologies Accelerator
The investment wave coincided with the October 16 hosting of the third Italy-U.S. Dialogue on Reliable Technologies for Democracies at the Italian Embassy in Washington, gathering ninety corporate entities. U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg joined Marco Peronaci, Vice President of the Chamber Giorgio Mulè, Lombardy and Lazio regional governors Attilio Fontana and Francesco Rocca, and Confindustria Barbara Cimmino at the summit.
Participants established an eighteen-month Reliable Technologies Accelerator in partnership with Purdue University’s Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy and the Transatlantic Harmonic Foundation, focusing on artificial intelligence, energy, and life sciences. The agreement follows Italy’s July accession to the Pax Silica initiative concerning semiconductor and critical mineral supply chains, alongside a bilateral critical minerals agreement signed in New York on September 21 by Antonio Tajani and Marco Rubio.
Broader scientific cooperation persists through Italian participation in the Artemis lunar habitation module program, valued by NASA at five billion dollars, as well as joint research at Fermilab on neutrino physics under the Dune project and quantum technologies via the SQMS center.
While large industrial conglomerates possess the institutional capital required for cross-border consolidation, smaller domestic enterprises face substantial barriers when attempting to establish U.S. operations. The sustainability of this transatlantic economic bridge depends on whether specialized accelerators can effectively clear commercial entry paths for mid-sized firms lacking dedicated merger and acquisition divisions in New York.