Ex-Ilva decree: effects and prospects for the Italian industry – Gianfranco Arpea interviewed by Economy Magazine

The package of measures to deal with the industrial emergency at the ILVA Group’s plant is now in force.

The Decree, issued by the Government to ensure the production and employment continuity of the plant and the companies in its supply chain, known as the ex-Ilva decree (Decree Law No. 4, 18th January 2024), also applies to all current and future corporate crisis situations.

Economy Magazine conducted an in-depth analysis on the subject and interviewed several experts to understand the impacts and prospects that the decree could have on the Italian industry.

Among the interviewees is Gianfranco Arpea, who emphasized the importance of the new regulations for public interest purposes, explaining that “the granting, free of charge, of the guarantee by the SME Fund to the small or medium-sized supplier company facing credit access difficulties, provided that the requesting company has generated over 50% of its turnover in the last two financial years. This is an unprecedented vertical state intervention in the industrial and economic supply chain and stakeholder protection. The objective of promoting credit circulation while containing the costs associated with loan repayment and reducing the risk of entanglement in credit assignment phase is clearly seen.

The full article is available here.

Companies and ESG, law firms in the field for sustainability – Francesca Ricci interviewed by ItaliaOggi

ItaliaOggi conducted an interesting in-depth survey on ESG related matters and the role of legal professionals in assisting companies, especially regarding ESG due diligence in M&A transactions.

The ESG reporting required by Directive 2022/2464 (the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, the  ‘CSRD Directive’) is a useful tool for understanding the target company” explains Francesca Ricci, interviewed on this topic. “During the negotiation of the acquisition contract, representations and warranties relating to non-financial reporting are crucial and, in the event of breach, give rise to contractual liability.[…] Starting from 2026, sustainability reports may have a significant impact on M&A transactions involving large companies. The expectation is to include approximately 8,000 companies in Italy that, falling within the definition of ‘large enterprise’ under the CSRD Directive, will be required to prepare sustainability reporting, thus relying on this additional attractiveness factor in M&A.

To read the full article (in italian), click here.