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Tomorrow’s hearing at the Civil Court of Milan will establish another step in the complicated affair of Ilva di Taranto: the state of insolvency of the holding company, the controlling company of Acciaierie d’Italia spa which already ended up in extraordinary administration last February.
It would be a formal but significant step, a prelude, also in this case, for a further commissionership and, probably, for a more in-depth investigation by the Milan prosecutor’s office, which could evaluate the hypotheses of bankruptcy crime and false accounting.
The decree could already arrive tomorrow (barring opposition or postponement of dates). If this is the case, the entire company effectively passes into public hands and can be assessed as a whole from a financial perspective by looking at the debt status, remaining resources and liquidity. The analysis of the bankruptcy situation therefore becomes more complete.
The overall picture, however, remains complex: for example, it will also be necessary to consider the more purely industrial question: the ownership of the plants is leased to Acciaierie d’Italia holding, they have not been sold and are still owned by the old Ilva company (they had to be purchased but the state of insolvency blocked the process).
At the moment, four companies have been placed under administration: Acciaierie d’Italia spa and three of its satellite companies, AdI Energia Srl, AdI Servizi Marittimi Srl, AdI Tubiforma. This is unique in the Italian legislative panorama, as it is a group with a private majority shareholder. It was Invitalia, public shareholder of AdI owner of 38%, who requested the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy for immediate admission to the extraordinary administration procedure of the Taranto company pursuant to article 1 of the legislative decree of 18 January 2024, n.24, despite being the majority held by ArcelorMittal. A note from Mimit had communicated that «by decree of the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso, Acciaierie di Italia SpA was admitted to the extraordinary administration procedure. Dr. is appointed extraordinary commissioner. Giancarlo Quaranta, a professional with long experience in the steel sector.”