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.

Rescue managers appointed to the troubled Italian company Parmalat are set to ask creditor banks for new loans to keep its factories running.

PARMALAT Finanziaria’s former chief financial officers Fausto Tonna and Luciano Del Soldato are among six executives arrested by the Italian police today as part of a probe into the collapse of Italy’s largest food company, sources familiar with the investigation said.

PARMALAT Finanziaria SpA founder Calisto Tanzi is being probed for allegedly misappropriating about €800 million ($1 billion) from the company, a person familiar with the investigation said.

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.

ITALY’S biggest food company, Parmalat Finanziaria, may seek bankruptcy protection from creditors this week after the disclosure that a $4.9 billion bank account didn’t exist.

ITALIAN Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said his government will save food group Parmalat, which has revealed a €4 billion hole in its accounts in a scandal reminiscent of the bankruptcy of Enron.