In general, Italian creditors’ rights and insolvency laws are considered to be more favorable to debtors and to the trustee in bankruptcy than the regimes of certain other jurisdictions and may not be as favorable to investors’ interests as those of other jurisdictions with which investors may be familiar, such as the United States.
In Italy, the courts play a central role in the insolvency process and out-of-court restructurings are infrequent.
Moreover, in court procedures may be materially more complex and the enforcement of security interests by creditors in Italy can be more time-consuming than in equivalent situations in jurisdictions with which foreign creditors may be familiar.
The two primary aims of the Italian bankruptcy legislation, as reformed and currently in force (the “Italian Bankruptcy Law”) are to maintain employment and to liquidate the debtor’s assets for the satisfaction of creditors.
These competing aims often have been balanced by the sale of businesses as going concerns and ensuring that employees are transferred along with the businesses being sold.
The following is a brief description of certain aspects of insolvency law in Italy, which does not include special provisions applying to banks, insurance and other companies authorized to carry out certain reserved activities nor it provides a comprehensive description of insolvency laws application where public companies are involved.
Certain provisions of Italian law have been amended or have entered into force only recently and, therefore, may be subject to further implementation and/or interpretations and have not been tested to date in the Italian courts.
In this respect, the most recent reform has been approved by the Italian Government on June 23, 2015 through a law-decree containing urgent reforms applicable, inter alia, to Italian bankruptcy law (the “Decree”).
The Decree entered into force on June 2015 (the date of its publication in the Gazzetta Ufficiale) and has been converted into law by the Law No. 132/2015 (“Law 132”). Law 132 entered into force on August 21, 2015 (the date after its publication in the Gazzetta Ufficiale).
The two primary aims of Royal Decree No. 267 of March 16, 1942 (the main Italian bankruptcy legislation), as reformed and currently in force (the “Italian Bankruptcy Law”) are to liquidate the debtor’s assets and protect the goodwill of the going concern (if any) for the satisfaction of creditors’ claim as well as, in case of the “Prodi-bis” procedure or “Marzano” procedure, to maintain employment.
These competing aims have often been balanced by the sale of businesses as going concerns and ensuring that employees are transferred along with the businesses being sold.
However, the Italian Bankruptcy Law has been recently amended with a view to promoting rescue procedures rather than liquidation, focusing on the continuity and survival of financially distressed businesses and enhancing pre-bankruptcy restructuring options.
Under the Italian Bankruptcy Law, bankruptcy must be declared by a court, based on the insolvency (insolvenza) of a company upon a petition filed by the company itself, the public prosecutor and/or one or more creditors. Insolvency occurs when a debtor is no longer able to regularly meet its obligations as they come due. This must be a permanent rather than a temporary status of insolvency in order for a court to hold that a company is insolvent.
The following debt restructuring and bankruptcy alternatives are available under Italian law for companies in a state of crisis and for insolvent companies.
Restructuring generally takes place through a formal judicial process because it is more favorable for the debtor and because informal arrangements put in place as a result of an out-of-court restructuring are vulnerable to being reviewed by a court in the event of a subsequent insolvency, and possibly challenged as voidable transactions. However, in cases where a company is solvent, but facing financial difficulties, it may be possible to enter into an out-of-court arrangement with its creditors, which may safeguard the existence of the company.
Out-of-court debt restructuring agreements are based on restructuring plans (piani di risanamento attestati) prepared by companies in order to restructure their indebtedness and to ensure the recovery of their financial condition. An independent expert appointed directly by the debtor must verify the feasibility of the restructuring plan and the truthfulness of the business data provided by the company. There is no need to obtain court approval to appoint the expert. The terms and conditions of these plans are freely negotiable. Unlike in-court pre-bankruptcy agreement proceedings and debt restructuring agreements, out-of-court reorganization plans do not offer the debtor any protection against enforcement proceedings and/or precautionary actions of third-party creditors. The Italian Bankruptcy Law provides that, should these plans fail and the debtor be declared bankrupt, the payments and/or acts carried out for the implementation of the reorganization plan, subject to certain conditions (a) are not subject to claw-back action; and (b) are exempted from the potential application of certain criminal sanctions. Neither ratification by the court nor publication in the Companies’ Register are needed (although publication in the Companies’ Register is possible upon a debtor’s request and would allow to certain tax benefits).
The debtor may negotiate with creditors holding at least 60% of the total amount of claims or debt restructuring agreements, subject to court’s approval. An independent expert appointed by the debtor must assess the truthfulness of the business and accounting data provided by the company and declare and that the agreement is feasible and that it ensures that the non-participating creditors can be fully satisfied within the following terms: (a) 120 days from the date of approval of the agreement by the court, in the case of debts which are due and payable to the non-participating creditors as of the date of the approval (omologazione) of the debt restructuring agreement by the court; and (b) 120 days from the date on which the relevant debts fall due, in case of debts which are not yet due and payable as of the date of the approval (omologazione) of the debt restructuring agreement by the court. Only a debtor who is insolvent or in a situation of “financial distress” (i.e., facing financial crisis which does not yet amount to insolvency) can initiate this process and request the court’s approval (omologazione) of the debt restructuring agreement entered into with its creditors.
The agreement is published in the companies’ register and is effective as of the day of its publication. Starting from the date of such publication and for 60 days thereafter, creditors cannot start or continue any conservative or enforcement actions against the assets of the debtor in relation to pre-existing receivables. The Italian Bankruptcy Law does not expressly provide for any indications concerning the contents of the debt restructuring agreement. The plan can therefore provide, among others, either for the prosecution of the business by the debtor or by a third party, or the sale of the business to a third party, and may contain refinancing agreements, moratoria, write-offs and/or postponements of claims. The debt restructuring agreement may also contain a proposed tax settlement for the partial or deferred payment of certain taxes.
The 60-days moratorium can also be requested by the debtor while negotiations with creditors are pending (i.e., prior to the above-mentioned publication of the agreement), subject to certain conditions. In such case the court, having verified the completeness of the documentation filed by the debtor, sets the date for a hearing within 30 days of the filing of the request. At such hearing, the court assesses whether the conditions for anticipating the moratorium are in place and, in such case, orders that no conservative or enforcement action may be started or continued, nor can security interests (unless agreed) be acquired over the assets of the debtor, and sets a deadline (not exceeding 60 days) within which a debt restructuring agreement and the assessment by the expert must be deposited. The court’s order may be challenged within 15 days of its publication. Within the same time frame, an application for the concordato preventivo (as described below) may be filed, without prejudice to the effect of the moratorium. Creditors and other interested parties may oppose the agreement within 30 days from the publication of the agreement in the companies’ register. After having settled the oppositions (if any) the court will validate the agreement by issuing a decree, which can be appealed within 15 days of its publication.
The Decree 83/2015, as amended by Law 132/2015 modified the basis for calculation of the 60% of the outstanding debtor’s debt threshold required for courts’ sanctioning of debt restructuring agreements (accordi di ristrutturazione dei debiti), easing the requirements with respect to financial creditors.
Pursuant to the new Article 182-septies of the Italian Bankruptcy Law, introduced by the Decree 83/2015, as amended by Law 132/2015, debtors whose financial indebtedness is at least 50% of their total indebtedness are entitled to enter into debt restructuring agreements obtaining the approval of financial creditors representing at least 75% of the aggregate financial claims of the relevant category and ask the court to declare such agreement binding on the dissenting financial creditors belonging to the same category (so called “cram down”), subject to certain conditions being met, including that treatment of dissenting creditors is not worse than under any other available alternative. If the abovementioned conditions are met, then the remaining 25% of non-participating financial creditors belonging to the same class of creditors are crammed down; however, crammed down creditors can challenge the deal and refuse to be forced into it, on the basis of the lack of homogeneity of the classes of creditors. Similarly, a standstill agreement (convenzione di moratoria) entered into between a debtor and financial creditors representing 75% of that debtor’s aggregate financial indebtedness would also bind the non-participating financial creditors, provided that an independent expert certifies the homogeneity of the classes and subject to certain conditions being met. The purpose is to prevent banks with modest credits from block restructuring operations involving more exposed bank creditors, resulting in the failure of the overall restructuring and the opening of a procedure. Financial creditors who did not participate in the agreement may challenge it within 30 days of receipt of the application.
Such debt restructuring agreements and standstill agreements will not affect the rights of non-financial creditors (e.g., trade creditors) who cannot be crammed down and must be paid within 120 days if not participating to a scheme.
Pursuant to Article 182-quater of the Italian Bankruptcy Law, financing granted to the debtor pursuant to the approved debt restructuring agreement (or a court-supervised Pre-Bankruptcy Composition with Creditors) enjoy priority status in cases of subsequent bankruptcy (such status also applies to financing granted by shareholders, but only up to 80 percent of such financing). Financing granted “in view of” (i.e., before) presentation of a petition for a debt restructuring agreement or a court-supervised Pre-Bankruptcy Composition with Creditors may be granted such priority status provided that it is envisaged by the relevant plan or agreement and that such priority is expressly provided for by the court at the time of approval of the plan or sanctioning (omologazione) of the agreement. Moreover, pursuant to the new Article 182-quinquies of the Italian Bankruptcy Law, the Court, pending the sanctioning (omologazione) of the debt restructuring agreement pursuant to Article 182-bis, Paragraph 1, of the Italian Bankruptcy Law or after the filing of the moratorium application pursuant to Article 182-bis, Paragraph 6, of the Italian Bankruptcy Law or a petition pursuant to Article 161, Paragraph 6, of the Italian Bankruptcy Law (in relation to the court supervised pre-bankruptcy arrangement with creditors procedure described below) may authorize the debtor, if so expressly requested: (i) to incur in new super senior indebtedness and to secure such indebtedness with in rem security (garanzie reali), provided that the expert appointed by the debtor declares that the new financing aims at providing a better satisfaction of the rights of the creditors, and (ii) to pay pre-existing debts deriving from the supply of services or goods, to the extent already payable and due, provided that the expert declares that such payment is essential for the keeping of the company’s activities and to ensure the best satisfaction for all creditors. In addition, according to the provisions of the Decree 83/2015, as amended by Law 132/2015, the aforementioned authorization may be given also before the filing of the additional documentation required pursuant to Article 161, Paragraph 6 of the Italian Bankruptcy Law.
The provision of Article 182-quinques of the Italian Bankruptcy Law applies to both debt restructuring agreement and to the court-supervised pre-bankruptcy compositions with creditors (concordato preventivo) outlined below.
Furthermore, according to the Article 1 of the Decree 83/2015, as amended by Law 132/2015, pending the sanctioning (omologazione) of the debt restructuring agreement pursuant to Article 182-bis, Paragraph 1 of the Italian Bankruptcy Law or after the filing of the moratorium application pursuant to Article 182-bis, Paragraph 6 of the Italian Bankruptcy Law also in absence of the plan pursuant to Article 161, Paragraph 2, letter (e) of the Italian Bankruptcy Law, the court may also authorize the debtor to incur in new super senior (so called prededucibile) indebtedness, aimed at supporting urgent financial needs related to the company’s business. The company, while filing such request of authorization, is required to specify (i) the purpose of the financing; (ii) that it is unable to otherwise obtain the required funds and (iii) that the absence of such financing will entail an imminent and irreparable prejudice to the company.
A company which is insolvent or in a situation of crisis (i.e., financial distress which does not yet amount to insolvency) has the option to make a composition proposal to its creditors, under court supervision, in order to compose its overall indebtedness and/or reorganize its business, thereby avoiding a declaration of insolvency and the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings. Such composition proposal can be made by a commercial enterprise which exceeds any of the following thresholds: (i) has had assets (attivo patrimoniale) in an aggregate amount exceeding €0.3 million for each of the three preceding fiscal years, (ii) gross revenue (ricavi lordi) in an aggregate amount exceeding €0.2 million for each of the three preceding fiscal years, and (iii) has total indebtedness in excess of €0.5 million. Only the debtor company can initially file a petition with the court for a concordato preventivo (together with, among others, a restructuring plan and an independent expert report assessing the feasibility of the composition proposal and the truthfulness of the business and accounting data provided by the company). The petition for concordato preventivo is then published by the debtor in the company’s register. From the date of such publication to the date on which the court sanctions the concordato preventivo, all enforcement and interim relief actions by the creditors (whose debt became due before the sanctioning of the concordato preventivo by the court) are stayed. During this time, all enforcement, precautionary actions and interim measures sought by the creditors, whose title arose beforehand, are stayed. Preexisting creditors cannot obtain security interests (unless authorized by the court) and mortgages registered within the 90 days preceding the date on which the petition for the concordato preventivo is published in the company’s register are ineffective against such pre-existing creditors.
The composition proposal filed in connection with the petition may provide for: (i) the restructuring and payment of debts and the satisfaction of creditors’ claims (provided that, in any case, it will ensure payment of at least 20% of the unsecured receivables, except for the case of composition with creditors with continuity of the going concern (concordato con continuità aziendale) pursuant to Article 186-bis of the Italian Bankruptcy Law, including through extraordinary transactions, such as the granting to creditors and to their subsidiaries or affiliated companies of shares, bonds (including bonds convertible into shares), or other financial instruments and debt securities); (ii) the transfer to a receiver (assuntore) of the operations of the debtor company making the composition proposal; (iii) the division of creditors into classes; and (iv) different treatment of creditors belonging to different classes.
The composition proposal may also contain a proposed tax settlement for the partial or deferred payment of certain taxes.
The filing of the petition for the concordato preventivo may be preceded by the filing of a preliminary petition for a concordato preventivo (so called concordato in bianco, pursuant to Article 161, paragraph 6, of the Italian Bankruptcy Law, as amended by Law Decree No. 69/2013 as converted into Law No. 98/2013 (“Law Decree 69/2013”)). The debtor company may file such petition along with: (i) its financial statements from the latest three financial years; and (ii) the list of creditors with the reference to the amount of their respective receivables, reserving the right to submit the underlying plan, the proposal and all relevant documentation within a period assigned by the court between 60 and 120 days from the date of the filing of the preliminary petition, subject to only one possible further extension of up to 60 days, where there are reasonable grounds for such extension. In advance of such deadline, the debtor may also file a petition for the approval of a debt restructuring agreement (pursuant to Article 182-bis of the Italian Bankruptcy Law). If the court accepts such preliminary petition, it may: (i) appoint a judicial commissioner (commissario giudiziale) to overview the company, who, in the event that the debtor has carried out one of the activities under Article 173 of the Italian Bankruptcy Law (e.g., concealment of part of assets, omission to report one or more claims, declaration of nonexistent liabilities or commission of other fraudulent acts), will report it to the court, which, upon further verification, may reject the petition at court for a concordato preventivo; and (ii) set forth reporting and information duties of the company during the abovementioned period.
The debtor company may not file such pre-application where it had already done so in the previous two years without the admission to the concordato preventivo having followed. The decree setting the term for the presentation of the documentation contains also the periodical information requirements (also relating to the financial management of the company and to the activities carried out for the purposes of the filing of the application and the restructuring plan) that the company has to fulfill, at least on a monthly basis, until the lapse of the term established by the court. The debtor company will file, on a monthly basis, the company’s financial position, which is published, the following day, in the company’s register. Noncompliance with these requirements results in the application for the composition with creditors being declared inadmissible and, upon request of the creditors or the public prosecutor and provided that the relevant requirements are verified, in the adjudication of the distressed company into bankruptcy. If the activities carried out by the debtor company appear to be clearly inappropriate to the preparation of the application and the restructuring plan, the court may, ex officio, after hearing the debtor and—if appointed—the judicial commissioner, reduce the time for the filing of additional documents.
Following the filing of the preliminary petition and until the decree of admission to the composition with creditors, the distressed company may: (i) carry out acts pertaining to its ordinary activity; and (ii) seek the court’s authorization to carry out acts pertaining to its non-recurring activity, to the extent they are urgent.
Claims arising from acts lawfully carried out by the distressed company and new super senior indebtedness authorized by the court, pending the sanctioning (omologazione) of the debt restructuring agreement pursuant to Article 182-bis, Paragraph 1 of the Italian Bankruptcy Law or after the filing of the moratorium application pursuant to Article 182-bis, Paragraph 6 of the Italian Bankruptcy Law also in absence of the plan pursuant to Article 161, Paragraph 2, letter (e) of the Italian Bankruptcy Law, aimed at supporting urgent financial needs related to the company’s business as recently introduced by Article 1 of the Decree 83/2015, as amended by Law 132/2015, are treated as super-senior (so called pre-deducibili) pursuant to Article 111 of the Italian Bankruptcy Law and the related acts, payments and security interests granted are exempted from the claw-back action provided under Article 67 of the Italian Bankruptcy Law. Law No. 9/2014 specified that the super-seniority of the claims—which arise out of loans granted with a view to allowing the filing of the preliminary petition for the composition with creditors (domanda di pre-concordato)—is granted, pursuant to Article 111 of the Italian Bankruptcy Law, conditional upon the proposal, the plan and all other required documents being filed within the term set by the court and the company being admitted to the concordato preventivo within the same proceeding opened with the filing of the preliminary petition.
The composition proposal may propose that: (i) the debtor’s company’s business continues to be run by the debtor’s company as a going concern; or (ii) the business is transferred to one or more companies and any assets which are no longer necessary to run the business are liquidated (concordato con continuità aziendale). In these cases, the petition for the concordato preventivo should fully describe the costs and revenue that are expected as a consequence of the continuation of the business as a going concern, as well as the financial resources and support which will be necessary. The report of the independent expert will also certify that the continuation of the business is conducive to the satisfaction of creditors’ claims to a greater extent than if such composition proposal was not implemented. Furthermore, the going concernbased arrangements with creditors can provide for, among others, the winding up of those assets that are not functional to the business allowed. The composition agreement may also contain a proposed tax settlement for the partial or deferred payment of certain taxes.
If the court determines that the composition proposal is admissible, it appoints a judge (giudice delegato) to supervise the procedure, appoints one or more judicial officers (commissari giudiziali) and calls a creditors’ meeting. During the implementation of the proposal, the company generally continues to be managed by its board of directors, but is supervised by the appointed judicial officers and judge (who will authorize all transactions that exceed the ordinary course of business).
The concordato preventivo is voted on at a creditors’ meeting and must be approved with the favorable vote of (a) the creditors representing the majority of the receivables admitted to vote and, also in the event that the plan provides for more classes of creditors, and (b) the majority of the classes. The Composition with Creditors is approved only if the required majorities of creditors expressly voted in favor of the proposal. Law 132/2015 abrogated the implied consent rule under which those creditors who, being entitled to vote, did not do so and those who did not express their dissent within 20 days of the closure of the minutes of the creditors’ meeting are deemed as consenting to the composition with creditors. Under the current regime, creditors who did not exercise their voting rights in the creditors’ meeting can do so (even via email) within 20 days of the closure of the minutes of the creditors’ meeting and, after such term, creditors who have did not exercise their voting right will be deemed not to approve the concordato preventivo proposal. Secured creditors are not entitled to vote on the proposal of concordato preventivo unless and to the extent they waive their security, or the concordato preventivo provides that they will not receive full satisfaction of the fair market value of their secured assets (such value being assessed by an independent expert), in which case they can vote only in respect of the part of their debt affected by the proposal. The court may also approve the concordato preventivo (notwithstanding the circumstance that one or more classes objected to it) if: (i) the majority of classes has approved it; and (ii) the court deems that the interests of the dissenting creditors would be adequately safeguarded through it compared to other solutions. If an objection to the implementation of the concordato preventivo is filed by 20% of the creditors or, in case there are different classes of creditors, by a creditor belonging to a dissenting class, entitled to vote, the court may nevertheless sanction the concordato preventivo if it deems that the relevant creditors’ claims are likely to be satisfied to a greater extent as a result of the concordato preventivo than would otherwise be the case.
The Decree 83/2015, as amended by Law 132/2015, introduced the possibility for creditors (except for individuals or entities controlled, controlling or under common control of the debtor) holding at least 10% of the aggregate claims against a debtor to present an alternative plan to the debtor’s plan in a pre-bankruptcy agreement proceedings (concordato preventivo) subject to certain conditions being met, including, in particular, that the proposal of the debtor do not ensure recovery of at least (i) 40% of the unsecured claims (crediti chirografari) in case of pre-bankruptcy agreement proposal with liquidation purpose (concordato liquidatorio), or (ii) 30% of the unsecured claims (crediti chirografari) in case of pre-bankruptcy agreement proposals based on the continuation of the going concern (concordato con continuità aziendale).
In addition, in order to strengthen the position of the unsecured creditors, Law 132/2015 sets forth that a pre-bankruptcy agreement proposal with liquidation purpose (concordato liquidatorio) (i.e., a pre-bankruptcy agreement proposal aiming at transferring all the assets to the creditors and having such assets sold in their interest by the judicial commissioner) must ensure that the unsecured creditors are paid in a percentage of at least 20% of their claims. This provision does not apply to pre-bankruptcy agreement proposals based on the continuation of the going concern (concordato con continuità aziendale). To the extent the alternative plan is approved by the creditors and ratified (omologato), the court may grant special powers to the judicial commissioner to implement the plan if the debtor does not cooperate, including by taking all corporate actions required.
In addition, Article 163-bis of the Italian Bankruptcy Law, introduced by the Decree 83/2015, as amended by Law 132/2015, provides that, if a plan in pre-bankruptcy composition with creditors (concordato preventivo), pursuant to Article 161, Paragraph 2, letter (e) of the Italian Bankruptcy Law, includes an offer for the sale of the debtor’s assets or of a going concern of the debtor to an identified third party, the judicial commissioner may request to the court the opening a competitive bidding process to the extent that it would be in the best interest of the creditors. After the approval by the creditors’ meeting, the court (having settled possible objections raised by the dissenting creditors, if any) confirms the concordato preventivo proposal by issuing a confirmation order.
If the creditors’ meeting does not approve the concordato preventivo, the court may, upon request of the public prosecutor or a creditor, and having decided that the appropriate conditions apply, declare the company bankrupt.
A request to declare a debtor bankrupt and to commence bankruptcy proceedings (fallimento) for the judicial liquidation of its assets can be filed by the debtor, any of its creditors and, in certain cases, the public prosecutor when a debtor is insolvent. Insolvency, as defined under Italian Bankruptcy Law, occurs when a debtor is no longer able to regularly meet its obligations with ordinary means as they come due. Bankruptcy is declared by the competent bankruptcy court. The Italian Bankruptcy Law is applicable only to commercial enterprises (imprenditori commerciali) if any of the following thresholds are met: the company (i) has had assets (attivo patrimoniale) in an aggregate amount exceeding €0.3 million for each of the three preceding fiscal years; (ii) has had gross revenue (ricavi lordi) in an aggregate amount exceeding €0.2 million for each of the three preceding fiscal years; and (iii) has total indebtedness in excess of €0.5 million.
Upon the commencement of bankruptcy proceedings, amongst other things:
• subject to certain exceptions, all actions of creditors, actions are stayed and creditors must file claims within a defined period;
• under certain circumstances secured creditors may execute against the secured property as soon as their claims are admitted as preferred claims. Secured claims are paid out of the proceeds of the secured assets, together with interest and expenses. Any outstanding balance will be considered unsecured and rank pari passu with all of the bankrupt’s other unsecured debt. Secured creditors may sell the secured asset only with the court authorization. After hearing the bankruptcy receiver (curatore fallimentare) and the creditors’ committee, the court decides whether to authorize the sale, and sets forth the relevant timing in his or her decision;
• the administration of the debtor and the management of its assets are transferred to the bankruptcy receiver (curatore fallimentare); and
• any act (including payments) made by the debtor after the commencement of the proceedings, other than those made through the receiver, become ineffective.
• Although the general rule is that the bankruptcy receiver is allowed to terminate contracts where some or all of the obligations have not been performed, certain contracts are subject to specific rules expressly provided for by Italian Bankruptcy Law.
Bankruptcy proceedings are carried out and supervised by a court-appointed bankruptcy receiver, a deputy judge (giudice delegato) and a creditors’ committee. The bankruptcy receiver is not a representative of the creditors, and is responsible for the liquidation of the assets of the debtor to the satisfaction of creditors. The proceeds from the liquidation are distributed in accordance with statutory priority. The liquidation of a debtor can take a considerable amount of time, particularly in cases where the debtor’s assets include real property. In this respect, Law 132/2015 amended the relevant provision of the Italian Bankruptcy Law which sets forth the requirements applicable to the liquidation procedure and as a consequence the timing for the liquidation of a debtor is shortened. Italian Bankruptcy Law provides for priority of payment to certain preferential creditors, including employees, the Italian treasury, and judicial and social authorities. Such priority of payment is provided under mandatory provisions of law (as a consequence it is untested and it is unlikely that priority of payments such as those commonly provided in intercreditor contractual arrangements would be recognized by an Italian bankruptcy estate to the extent they are inconsistent with the priorities provided by law). Unsecured creditors are satisfied after payment of preferential and secure creditors, out of available funds and assets (if any) as below indicated.
Bankruptcy proceedings can terminate prior to liquidation through a bankruptcy composition proposal with creditors. The relevant petition can be filed by one or more creditors, third parties or the receiver starting from the declaration of bankruptcy, whereas the debtor or its subsidiaries are admitted to file such a proposal only after one year following such declaration but before the lapse of two years from the decree giving effectiveness to the bankruptcy’s estate. The petition may provide for the division of creditors into classes (thereby proposing different treatments among the classes), and the satisfaction of creditors’ claims in any manner. The petition may provide that secured claims are paid only in part. The concordato fallimentare proposal must be approved by the creditors’ committee and the creditors holding the majority (by value) of claims (and, if classes are formed, by a majority (by value) of the claims in a majority of the classes). Final court confirmation is also required.
The statutory priority assigned to creditors under the Italian Bankruptcy Law may be different from the priorities in the United States, the United Kingdom and certain other EU jurisdictions. Under Italian law, the highest priority claims (after the costs of the proceedings are paid) are the claims of preferential creditors, including the claims of the Italian tax authorities and social security administrators, and claims for employee wages. The remaining priorities of claims are, in order of priority, those related to secured creditors (creditori privilegiati; a preference in payment in most circumstances, but not exclusively, provided for by law), mortgages (creditori ipotecari), pledges (creditori prignoratizi) and, lastly, unsecured creditors (crediti chirografari). Under Italian law, the proceeds from the sale of the bankrupt’s estate are distributed according to legal rules of priority. Neither the debtor nor the court can deviate from these priority rules by proposing their own priorities of claims or by subordinating one claim to another based on equitable subordination principles. The law creates a hierarchy of claims that must be adhered to when distributing the proceeds derived from the sale of the entire bankrupt’s estate or part thereof, or from a single asset.
Similar to other jurisdictions, there are so-called “clawback” or avoidance provisions under Italian law that may give rise, inter alia, to the revocation of payments or to the granting of security interests made by the debtor prior to the declaration of bankruptcy. The key avoidance provisions address transactions made below market value, preferential transactions and transactions made with a view to defraud creditors. Claw-back rules under Italian law are normally considered to be particularly favorable to the receiver in bankruptcy compared to the rules applicable in other jurisdictions.
In bankruptcy proceedings, the Italian Bankruptcy Law provides for a claw-back period of up to one year (six months in certain circumstances) and a two-year ineffectiveness period for certain other transactions.
The Italian Bankruptcy Law distinguishes between acts or transactions which are ineffective by operation of law and acts or transactions which are voidable at the request of the bankruptcy receiver/court commissioner.
(a) Acts ineffective by operation of law. (i) Under Article 64 of the Italian Bankruptcy Law, subject to certain limited exception, all transactions entered into for no consideration are ineffective vis-à-vis creditors if entered into by the bankrupt entity in the two-year period prior to the insolvency declaration, and (ii) under Article 65 of the Italian Bankruptcy Law, payments of receivables falling due on the day of the insolvency declaration or thereafter are deemed ineffective vis-à-vis creditors, if made by the bankrupt entity within the two-year period prior to the insolvency declaration.
(b) Acts that may be avoided at the bankruptcy receiver’s request.
(i) The following acts and transactions, may be avoided and declared ineffective, unless the non-insolvent party proves that it had no actual or constructive knowledge of the debtor’s insolvency at the time the transaction was entered into:
• onerous transactions entered into in the year before the insolvency declaration, when the value of the debt or the obligations undertaken by the bankrupt entity exceeds 25% of the value of the consideration received by and/or promised to the debtor;
• payments of debts, due and payable, which were not made by the debtor in cash or by other customary means of payment in the year prior to the insolvency declaration; • pledges and mortgages granted by the bankrupt entity in the year prior to the insolvency declaration in order to secure pre-existing debts which not yet due at the time the new security was granted ; and
• pledges and mortgages granted by the bankrupt entity in the six months prior to the insolvency declaration in order to secure pre-existing debts which had already fallen due at the time the new security was granted.
(ii) The following acts and transactions, if made during the vulnerability period or such other period specified below, may be avoided and declared ineffective if the bankruptcy receiver proves that the non-insolvent party knew that the bankrupt entity was insolvent:
• payments of debts that are immediately due and payable and any onerous transactions entered into or made within six months prior to the insolvency declaration; and
• granting of security interest for debts incurred in the six months prior to the insolvency declaration.
(iii) The following transactions are exempt from claw-back actions:
• payments for goods or services made in the ordinary course of business according to market practice;
• a remittance on a bank account; provided that it does not materially and permanently reduce the bankrupt entity’s debt towards the bank;
• the sale, including an agreement for sale registered pursuant to Article 2645-bis of Italian Royal Decree No. 262 of March 16, 1942 (the “Italian Civil Code”), currently in force, made for a fair value and concerning a residential property that is intended as the main residence of the purchaser or the purchaser’s family (within three degrees of kinship) or a non-residential property that is intended as the main seat of the enterprise of the purchaser; provided that, as at the date of the insolvency declaration, the activity is actually exercised therein or the investments for the commencement of such activity have been carried out therein;
• transactions entered into, payments made and guarantees granted by the debtor pursuant to a plan (piano attestato) under Article 67 of the Italian Bankruptcy Law;
• a transaction entered into, payment made or guarantee granted in the context of “concordato preventivo” under Article 161 of the Italian Bankruptcy Law or an “accordo di ristrutturazione del debito” under Article 182-bis of the Italian Bankruptcy Law;
• remuneration payments to the bankrupt entity’s employees and consultants concerning work carried out by them; and
• payments of a debt that is immediately due, payable and made on the due date, with respect to services necessary for access to concordato preventivo procedures.
In addition, in certain cases, the bankruptcy receiver can request that certain transactions of the bankrupt entity be declared ineffective within the ordinary claw-back period of five years (revocatoria ordinaria) provided for by the Italian Civil Code. Under Article 2901 of the Italian Civil Code, a creditor may demand that transactions whereby the bankrupt entity disposed of its assets prejudicially to such creditor’s rights be declared ineffective with respect to such creditor, provided that the bankrupt entity was aware of such prejudice (or, if the transaction was entered into prior to the date on which the claim was originated, that such transaction was fraudulently entered into by the bankruptcy entity for the purpose of prejudicing the bankrupt entity) and that, in the case of a transaction entered into for consideration with a third person, the third person was aware of such prejudice (and, if the transaction was entered into prior to the date on which the claim was originated, such third person participated in the fraudulent design).
Law 132/2015 also introduced new Article 2929-bis to the Italian Civil Code, providing for a “simplified” clawback action for the creditor with respect to certain types of transactions put in place by the debtor with the aim to subtract (registered) assets from the attachment by its creditors. In particular, the creditor can now start enforcement proceedings over the relevant assets without previously obtaining a Court decision clawing back/ nullifying the relevant (fraudulent) transaction, to the extent that such transaction had been carried out without consideration (e.g., gratuitous transfers, or creation of shield instruments such as trusts or the so called fondo patrimoniale—“family trust”). In case of gratuitous transfers, the enforcement action can also be carried out by the creditor against the third party purchaser.
The extraordinary administration procedure is available under Italian law for large industrial and commercial enterprises; this procedure is commonly referred to as the “Prodi-bis procedure.” To be eligible, companies must be insolvent although able to demonstrate serious recovery prospects, have employed at least 200 employees in the previous year preceding the commencement of the procedure, and have debts equal to at least two-thirds of its assets as shown in its financial statements and two-thirds of its income deriving from sales and services during its last financial year. The procedure may be commenced by petition of the creditors, the debtor, a court or the public prosecutor. The same rules set forth for bankruptcy proceedings with respect to existing contracts and creditors’ claims largely apply to an extraordinary administration proceeding. Extraordinary administration procedures involve two main phases— an administrative phase and a judicial phase.
In the administrative phase, the court determines whether the company meets the admission criteria and whether it is insolvent. It then issues a decision to that effect and appoints up to three judicial receivers (commissario giudiziale) to investigate whether there are serious prospects for recovery via a business sale or reorganization. The judicial receiver submit(s) a report to the court (within 30 days) together with an opinion from the Italian Productive Activities Minister (the “Ministry”). The court has 30 days to decide whether to admit the company to the procedure or place it into bankruptcy.
If the company is admitted to the extraordinary administration procedure, the judicial phase begins and the extraordinary commissioner(s) appointed by the Ministry prepare a restructuring plan. The plan can provide either for the sale of the business as a going concern within one year (unless extended by the Ministry) (the “Disposal Plan”) or a reorganization leading to the company’s economic and financial recovery within two years (unless extended by the Ministry) (the “Recovery Plan”). It may also include a composition with creditors (concordato). The plan must be approved by the Ministry. The procedure ends upon successful completion of either a Disposal Plan or a Recovery Plan; however’ should either plan fail, the company will be declared bankrupt.
Introduced in 2003 pursuant to Law Decree No. 347 of 23 December 2003, as converted into Law No. 39 of 2004 and subsequently amended, this procedure is also known as the “Marzano procedure.” It is complementary to the Prodi-bis procedure and, except as otherwise provided, the same provisions apply.
The Marzano procedure is intended to work faster than the Prodi-bis procedure. For example, although a company must be insolvent, the application to the Ministry can be made before the court commences the administrative phase.
The Marzano procedure only applies to large insolvent companies which, on a consolidated basis, have at least 500 employees in the year before the procedure is commenced and at least €300 million of debt. The decision whether to open a Marzano procedure is taken by the Ministry following the debtor’s request (who must also file an application for the declaration of insolvency).
The Ministry assesses whether the relevant requirements are met and then appoints the extraordinary commissioner(s) who will manage the company. The court also decides on the company’s insolvency.
The extraordinary commissioner(s) has/have 180 days (or 270 days if the Ministry so agrees) to submit a Disposal Plan or Recovery Plan. The restructuring through the Disposal Plan or the Recovery Plan must be completed within, respectively, one year (extendable to two years) and two years.
If no Disposal or Recovery Plan is approved by the Ministry, the court will declare the company bankrupt and open bankruptcy proceedings.
A compulsory administrative winding-up (liquidazione coatta amministrativa) is only available for public interest entities such as state-controlled companies, insurance companies, credit institutions and other financial institutions, none of which can be wound up pursuant to bankruptcy proceedings. It is irrelevant whether these companies belong to the public or the private sector. A compulsory administrative winding-up is special insolvency proceedings in that the entity is liquidated not by the bankruptcy court but by the relevant administrative authority that oversees the industry in which the entity is active. The procedure may be triggered not only by the insolvency of the relevant entity, but also by other grounds expressly provided for by the relevant legal provisions (e.g., in respect of Italian banks, serious irregularities concerning the management of the bank or serious violations of the applicable legal, administrative or statutory provisions).
The effect of this procedure is that the entity loses control over its assets and a liquidator (commissario liquidatore) is appointed to wind up the company. The liquidator’s actions are monitored by a steering committee (comitato di sorveglianza). The powers assigned to the designated judge and the bankruptcy court under the other insolvency proceedings are assumed by the relevant administrative authority under this procedure. The effect of the forced administrative winding-up on creditors is largely the same as under bankruptcy proceedings and includes, for example, a ban on enforcement measures. The same rules set forth for bankruptcy proceedings with respect to existing contracts and creditors’ claims largely apply to a compulsory administrative winding-up.
The Decree 83/2015, as amended by Law 132/2015, introduced the possibility for debtors to also obtain authorization to receive urgent interim financing and to continue to use existing trade receivables credit lines (linee di credito autoliquidanti) necessary for their business needs before a court’s approval of a Pre-Bankruptcy Composition with Creditors (concordato preventivo) or the entry into a debt restructuring agreement (accordo di ristrutturazione dei debiti) with priority status (prededucibilità) in case of subsequent bankruptcy without the expert certification and through an accelerated review process by the relevant court, upon, among others, the relevant debtor’s declaration that interim finance is urgently needed and the debtor’s inability to access such finance would cause imminent and irreparable damage. The court must decide on the request within 10 days of the filing of the application after consultation with the judicial commissioner and, if deemed necessary, the principal creditors.
Before the entry into force of the Decree 83/2015, debtors could be granted financing with priority status (prededucibilità) before a court’s approval of a Pre-Bankruptcy Composition with Creditors (concordato preventivo) or the entry into a debt restructuring agreement (accordo di ristrutturazione dei debiti) if: (i) an expert certified that such financing is functional to the overall restructuring process; or (ii) such financing is provided for by the plan or the agreement, provided in each case that the court approved such priority status.
In a bankruptcy proceeding, the Italian Bankruptcy Law provides for a claw-back period of up to one year (six-months in certain circumstances).
In addition, in certain cases, the bankruptcy receiver can request that certain transactions of the debtor are declared ineffective within the Italian Civil Code ordinary claw-back period of five years (“revocatoria ordinaria”).
Under Italian law, in the event that the relevant Guarantor enters into insolvency proceedings, the security interests created under the documents entered into to secure the Collateral and the Guarantees could be subject to potential challenges by an insolvency administrator or by other creditors of such Guarantor under the rules of avoidance or claw-back of Italian Bankruptcy Law and the relevant law on the non-insolvency avoidance or claw-back of transactions by the debtor made during a certain legally specified period (the “suspect period”). The avoidance may relate to (i) transactions made by the debtor within a suspect period of one year prior to the declaration of the insolvency at below market value (i.e., to the extent the asset or obligation given or undertaken exceeds by one quarter the value of the consideration received by the debtor), or involving unusual means of payment (e.g., payment in kind) or new security granted with respect to pre-existing debts not yet due at the time the security is entered into after the creation of the secured obligations, unless the non-insolvent creditor proves that it had no knowledge of the debtor’s insolvency at the time the transaction was entered into, (ii) security granted within six months prior to the declaration of insolvency with respect to pre-existing debts due and payable, unless the non-insolvent creditor proves that it had no knowledge of the debtor’s insolvency at the time the transaction was entered into, and (iii) payments of due and payable obligations, transactions at arm’s length or security taken simultaneously to the creation of the secured obligations during the suspect period of six months prior to the declaration of the insolvency, if the bankruptcy receiver proves that the creditor was aware of the insolvency of the debtor. The transactions potentially subject to avoidance also include those contemplated by a Guarantor’s Guarantee or the granting of security interests under the Security Documents by a Guarantor. If they are challenged successfully, the rights granted under the Italian Guarantees or in connection with security interests under the relevant Security Documents may become unenforceable and any amounts received must be refunded to the insolvent estate. To the extent that the grant of any security interest is voided, holders of the Notes could lose the benefit of the security interest and may not be able to recover any amounts under the related Security Documents.
It should be noted that: (i) under Article 64 of the Italian Bankruptcy Law, subject to certain limited exceptions, all transactions carried out by the insolvent debtor for no consideration are ineffective vis-à-vis creditors if entered into by the debtor in the two-year period prior to the insolvency declaration, and (ii) under Article 65 of the Italian Bankruptcy Law, payments of receivables falling due on the day of the insolvency declaration or thereafter are ineffective vis-à-vis creditors, if made by the bankrupt entity in the two-year period prior to insolvency.
In addition, as noted above, the E.U. Insolvency Regulation contains conflicts of law rules which replace the various national rules of private international law in relation to insolvency proceedings within the European Union.
Recouvrement des creances en Italie.
Inkasso, Forderungsmanagement und Insolvenzrecht in Italien.