1. Types of Business Entities -

1.1 Premises -

The Italian law provides multiple forms of organizational structures in order to do business in Italy, which differ from one another due to the extent of the liability undertaken by their participants. In particular, certain business organizational forms allow the participants to limit their personal liability (such as the “società per azioni” – a type of company similar to the Joint Stock Company – or the “società a responsabilità limitata” – similar to the Limited Liability Company), as opposed to others which do not limit the liability of the participants (among which the “società semplice” and the “società in nome collettivo,” operating similarly to a partnership) or which provide for limitations to the personal liability only for certain classes of stakeholders (i.e. the “società in accomandita semplice” and “società in accomandita per azioni”).

Most foreign investors generally enter the Italian market through the organizational structures that provide a limited liability for the participants. Discussed below are the two most common types of corporate entities that provides such limited liability, i.e. the “Società per Azioni” (“S.p.A.”) and the “Società a responsabilità limitata” (“S.r.l.”), including a simplified type of the S.r.l., the “Società a responsabilità limitata semplificata” (“S.r.l.s.”). In each of these types of corporations, in fact, the maximum extension of the shareholders’ personal liability is limited to the amount of their equity interest.