Parmalat may swap debt for shares

In Milan, unsourced newspaper reports suggest that Parmalat's Finanziaria SpA's administrator Enrico Bondi is studying the possibility of swapping 70-75% of the group's debt, held by bondholders and creditor banks, for shares in the company.

Under the plan, creditors would become the sole shareholders of the company, while existing retail shareholders would be offered a warrant to take part in a future capital increase.

The debt write-off would leave the group about €4.4bn in debt, which would be matched with company assets according to the paper.

It also reported that the group is expected to sell the group's US and Brazilian assets.