On June 23, 2015, the Italian Government approved important amendments to the Italian Bankruptcy Act. These amendments follow a major reform in 2012, which introduced U.S. Chapter 11-style proceedings in Italy by modifying the pre-existing concordato preventivo proceedings. The amendments are meant to address issues that have arisen in the three years following the 2012 reform.
The new rules: (a) allow creditors to file competing plans in the context of a concordato, thus offering voting creditors an alternative to a debtor’s plan; (b) introduce specific provisions applicable to a sale of assets by a debtor in a concordato and to so-called “stalking horse” offers; (c) facilitate the grant of urgent financing to support the business of a debtor in a concordato; and (d) introduce proceedings similar to English law “schemes of arrangements” to allow the out-of-court restructuring of financial claims with the support of creditors holding at least 75% of the relevant claims, thus overcoming de facto vetoes by minority financial creditors.
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