The Legal 500

‘In addition to extremely strong technical capabilities’, Bonelli Erede Pappalardo has ‘great insight into Italian businesses’. The team advised Bank of America Merrill Lynch on the restructuring of Regent Property’s indebtedness, and assisted BM Shipping Group with debt restructuring issues. Genoa-based Marco Arato co-ordinates the insolvency and restructuring group, and Vittoria Giustiniani heads the corporate restructuring sub-department.

The widely well-regarded Lombardi Molinari e Associati advised Risanamento and Carlo Tassara on debt restructuring. Giuseppe Lombardi, Ugo Molinari and Johannes Karner are recommended.

Gianni, Origoni, Grippo, Cappelli & Partners acted on the groundbreaking restructuring of Socotherm, which involved a capital increase to satisfy creditors’ claims. The team was also retained as counsel to the Vatican on the restructuring of Ospedale S. Raffaele. Gabriella Covino has ‘great legal skills’, Silvio Tersilla is ‘an outstanding lawyer’, and Antonio Auricchio is also recommended.

Paul Hastings LLP’s ‘legal advice is always sound and reliable’. The team represented Lucchini on its €1bn restructuring, including advising on financing agreements and on negotiations with shareholders. Alberto Del Din ‘offers solutions to legal problems’, and Bruno Cova ‘provides inspiring service’. Antonio Azzarà is also recommended.

Allen & Overy – Studio Legale Associato ‘provides appropriate advice in a commercial framework’. It advised the banks on negotiations relating to the restructuring and rescheduling of the €3.1bn bank debt held by Carlo Tassara and Carlo Tassara International.

Chiomenti Studio Legale advised on restructuring the financial debt of Motia Compagnia di Navigazione. UniCredit is also a client. Practice head Andrea Bernava and Giulia Battaglia are recommended.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP’s key contacts are Giuseppe Scassellati-Sforzolini in Rome, and Roberto Bonsignore and Pietro Fioruzzi in Milan. The practice was counsel to RBS on the extension of senior and subordinated acquisition facilities granted to a troubled Italian borrower.

Clifford Chance advised Intesa Sanpaolo and five other banks on the restructuring of senior and mezzanine facilities granted to the Cantiere del Pardo/Dufour Group, one of the first pre-packed, court-approved restructurings in Italy. Charles Adams is well regarded.

DLA Piper assisted a syndicate of banks with the rescheduling of Sopaf’s debt and of a planned convertible loan. Ernesto Apuzzo co-heads the practice with the experienced Antonio Lombardo, who is based in Rome. Country managing partner Federico Sutti is also a key contact.

d’Urso Gatti e Bianchi Studio Legale Associato advised a pool of major Italian banks on the debt restructuring of listed real estate company Risanamento. Giancarlo Castorino is the key contact.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised Deutsche Bank on the Italian security package connected to the restructuring of Carl Zeiss Vision’s corporate finance debt. In Milan, Corrado Angelelli ‘solves problems instead of creating them’, and Enrico Castellani ‘matches his ability with punctual analysis and knowledge of judicial matters’. Emiliano Conio and Rome-based Raffaele Lener are also recommended. Lener was appointed by the Bank of Italy to assist it in the extraordinary administration of Banca UBAE (in which Libyan Foreign Bank holds a 67% stake) as a consequence of the freezing of Libyan assets.

Labruna Mazziotti Segni’s restructuring group combines experience in litigation and formal insolvency proceedings with expertise in structured finance and distressed M&A. Highlights included negotiating a multinational’s complex restructuring agreement with its senior lenders. Francesco Ruggeri Laderchi is recommended.

Latham & Watkins LLP represented a pool of banks headed by Banca Popolare di Verona – San Geminiano e San Prospero on the debt restructuring and new financing of Agorà 2000, a group predominantly operating in the real estate market.

Legance Studio Legale Associato’s excellent banking practice makes it a strong choice for lender-led restructuring work, while its corporate finance practice ensures strength when assisting borrowers and advising on distressed M&A transactions. The team assisted UniCredit, Intesa Sanpaolo, BNL and Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena with the debt restructuring of Ciccolella Group. The key contacts are Giandomenico Ciaramella and Stefano Parlatore in Rome, and ex-NCTM Studio Legale Associato partner Paolo Pototschnig in Milan.

Linklaters advised the lenders on Lucchini’s debt restructuring. Practice head Francesco Faldi, Andrea Arosio and Davide Mencacci are recommended.

Pedersoli e Associati ‘guarantees top-notch, quality advice’. It advised a pool of banks on the debt restructuring of the Emilceramica group of companies. Maura Magioncalda has ‘excellent business acumen’, and Valeria Mazzoletti and Antonio Pedersoli are also recommended. Alessandro Fosco Fagotto, who gives ‘appropriate advice’, joined from Marena D’Angelo & Fagotto.

Studio Legale Avv. G. Iannaccone e Associati’s Giuseppe Iannaccone is widely respected for insolvency matters.

Hogan Lovells Studio Legale advises on debt restructuring, the renegotiation of financial documents, pre-insolvency procedures, debt trading and distressed acquisitions, and insolvency. Antonio Di Pasquale’s ‘advice is appropriate’.

Macchi di Cellere Gangemi recently advised a fashion industry company on insolvency law. Silvia Lazzeretti heads the practice.

Studio Maffei Alberti has significant experience in bankruptcy law and debt restructuring agreements and plans, particularly extraordinary administration proceedings. The firm also advises on insolvency and the acquisition and restructuring of businesses in crisis. Alberto Maffei Alberti is recommended.

NCTM Studio Legale Associato advised UniCredit Credit Management Bank on the liquidation of some of its Italian subsidiaries. Guido Fauda is a key contact. Francesco De Gennaro joined Ashurst’s recently opened Rome office.

Norton Rose Studio Legale acted for several banks on the €51m debt restructuring of natural gas distributor Servizi Energetici Integrati and its subsidiaries. Team leader Mario Lisanti is well regarded.

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe’s ‘reliable and precise’ Daniela Andreatta is a key contact. The team assisted Nuova Pansac with a €250m debt restructuring.

Studio Legale Riolo Calderaro Crisostomo e Associati represented BNL in the procedure for concluding a composition with creditors, proposed by Gruppo Arcte, before Bologna’s Bankruptcy Court. Paolo Calderaro heads the team.