The European Commission concluded that the intervention of Asset Management Company S.p.A. (AMCO) as part of the pre-bankruptcy proceedings of the Italian food company Ferrarini S.p.A. did not constitute State aid within the meaning of European rules.
Ferrarini, which was in financial difficulty, had initiated pre-bankruptcy proceedings in 2019.
A consortium formed by the industrial company Pini Italia Srl and AMCO as a financial partner was able to reach an arrangement, accepted by the creditors and ratified by a decree in 2023, which included the acquisition of joint control of Ferrarini by Pini and AMCO and a recovery plan.
AMCO, the capital of which is wholly owned by the Italian Ministry of the Economy and Finance, then acquired a minority stake equal to 20% of Ferrarini’s share capital and granted it a loan of €12 million.
Following a complaint from one of Ferrarini’s competitors, the Commission concluded that AMCO’s financial intervention in the pre-bankruptcy proceedings did not constitute State aid, since the loan and AMCO’s minority shareholding were not attributable to the Italian State and the intervention did not confer any economic advantage on Ferrarini.
In particular, the Commission established that there had been no intervention by the public authorities in the tender procedure. (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)