Parmalat SpA's board said Tuesday it considered the price of EUR2.60 that France's Groupe Lactalis SA is offering for every share it does not already own in the Italian dairy group as inadequate, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. The board, which met in Milan to review the EUR3.4 billion takeover bid for the remaining 71% of Parmalat, said its members voted unanimously against it.

Italy's market watchdog Consob is to speed up its examination of the offer prospectus filed by French dairy group Lactalis for Italian rival Parmalat, Consob's head said in an newspaper interview on Sunday, Reuters reported. "We will examine it (the prospectus) rapidly, even before the legal timeframe limit," Giuseppe Vegas was quoted as saying in La Stampa. Under Italian law Consob has 15 days to look at a takeover offer but can ask for more time if it needs further information. Lactalis filed documents with Consob on Friday.

After making a fuss about defending Italian champions of industry, it turns out that the Italian government is willing to compromise, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. When France's Groupe Lactalis SA first appeared on the scene in March, building up a 29% stake in dairy group Parmalat SpA, the government sounded the alarm amid fears that yet another Italian company would fall prey to a French predator. With Lactalis' move on Parmalat, the government went into action. It called on the country's bankers and industrialists to save Parmalat and passed measures to help them do so.

A Milan court on Monday acquitted four international banks and six managers on criminal charges related to the 2003 collapse of the Parmalat dairy empire, the Associated Press reported. The banks all immediately issued statements expressing satisfaction with the ruling, which brings to an end the 2-year-old trial, one of a series seeking to assign blame in the stunning corporate failure that still ranks as Europe's largest. Parmalat collapsed under the weight of its euro14 billion mountain of debt.

Linklaters has filed negligence claims against Italian law firm Gianni Origoni Grippo & Partners relating to advice given by the magic circle firm to Credit Suisse on a deal with Italian food company Parmalat nearly 10 years ago, LegalWeek.com reported. The claims, which were filed in the Admiralty and Commercial division of the High Court earlier this month (10 March), see Linklaters suing the Italian independent law firm as well as launching five claims against individuals.

Italian directory company Seat Pagine Gialle SpA bonds dropped Wednesday after the company published its full-year results and announced it intends to hire advisers for a process of "stabilization of its financial structure," Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Seat Pagine Gialle posted a EUR667.4 million net loss in 2010 compared with a EUR38 million net loss a year earlier. The company made a goodwill writedown of EUR673.8 million following an impairment test. The Italian yellow pages publisher is shifting its focus to the online business from the declining print directories market.

One of Italy's biggest unions yesterday announced a strike next month to protest against an agreement reached between Fiat SpA and rival unions to build Alfa Romeo and Jeep vehicles at a key plant, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. The metalworkers' union, Fiom, took part in the talks last week but refused to sign the agreement on the terms of the future labor contract for the plant because it rejected some of these terms demanded by Fiat.

An Italian court sentenced Parmalat SpA founder Calisto Tanzi to 18 years in prison for his role in the 2003 collapse of the Italian dairy firm, wrapping up a seven-year investigation and trial into one of Europe's biggest corporate bankruptcies, The Wall Street Journal reported. Parmalat filed for bankruptcy in December 2003 after information emerged that a decade-long fraud had left the maker of long-life milk, yogurts and juice saddled with €14 billion ($18.57 billion) in debt. The savings of thousands of bondholders around the world were wiped out.

Italy’s debt costs more to insure against default than that of the Philippines or Indonesia, as Europe’s debt woes overshadow a credit rating six levels higher than either of the emerging-market nation, Bloomberg reported. Credit-default swaps on Italy, the only borrower among Europe’s so-called peripheral nations not to suffer a cut in its credit rating since last year, trade at 166.5 basis points. That’s more than the 127 basis points for Indonesia, or the 126 basis points for the Philippines.

An Italian labor union said it may appeal a Rome court ruling to declare ferry operator Tirrenia di Navigazione SpA insolvent and will fight against the state-owned company’s breakup, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. “We fear that after the insolvency, Tirrenia will be broken up into many companies, hurting its service and workforce,” Giuseppe Caronia, general secretary of the Uil Trasporti union, said. “We have nothing against the company’s sale in one piece to investors willing to keep the jobs and a state stake.” Uil Trasporti has called a strike on Aug.