Parmalat to file for bankruptcy protection with €9bn ‘missing’

PARMALAT, the Italian dairy giant, said it will file for bankruptcy protection after the Italian government passed an emergency measure to speed the restructuring of the country’s biggest food company.

The Italian cabinet approved a change yesterday in rules for corporate rescues that will let the government name Enrico Bondi, a turnaround expert appointed head of Parmalat last week, as a special commissioner to run the company in bankruptcy.

Parmalat disclosed the bankruptcy plan in a three-sentence statement distributed by the stock exchange last night. Bondi and Italian investigators must unravel the finances of a company that reported €4.2 billion in cash and marketable securities three months ago and now can’t make payments worth a tenth of that amount. Parmalat is unable to document about €9 billion of funds in its accounts.